Operation Sentinel issues landmark fines for child safety breaches
A strengthened focus on investigation and enforcement has seen thousands of dollars in fines issued by the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian under Operation Sentinel.
On 16 February, Children’s Guardian, Rachael Ward, announced the creation of a new investigations and enforcement team to focus on holding organisations and individuals to account for not following child protection laws.
‘In the past 2 months we’ve issued 24 fines totalling $27,500, along with 13 official warnings to organisations and individuals,’ Ms Ward said.
‘We follow up these warnings, including with site visits, to make sure the problems we’ve identified are resolved.
‘My team launched Operation Sentinel to sift through data from Working with Children Check, Reportable Conduct and other systems to identify suspicious patterns or unlawful behaviour,’ she said.
These included low rates of Working with Children Check verifications, faulty investigations of reportable allegations and inadequate responses to official correspondence.
‘Our website provides comprehensive, accessible information on how organisations and individuals can meet their legal obligations. We also provide free eLearning and training sessions, online and face-to-face. So, there’s no excuse for not following the law,’ Ms Ward said.
‘A great place to start is our Child Safe Self-Assessment which provides a tailored report on where your organisation is doing well and where it needs to do better.
‘Rules and regulations can change, so I also encourage you to subscribe to our monthly newsletter so you can keep up to date.’
Ms Ward acknowledged that the vast majority of people and organisations doing child-related work make wonderful, lasting contributions to the lives of children and young people in NSW.
‘Fines are not just punishment, they’re an important educational tool and an additional incentive for us all to do what’s right, because child protection laws matter,’ she said.
