CRISAFULLI GOVERNMENT STRENGTHENS BLUE CARD SYSTEM AND ENSURES TOUGHER PENALTIES FOR PREDATORS
- Crisafulli Government is ensuring new blue card laws and reforms strengthen safeguards for children in Queensland.
- More people who work closely with children will be required to hold a blue card.
- New reforms will commence on 20 September to improve criminal justice system responses to victims of domestic, family, and sexual violence and introduce new position of authority offence.
- Crisafulli Government is committed to fixing child protection systems broken during Labor’s decade of decline.
The Crisafulli Government is ensuring new laws are in place to protect the most vulnerable Queenslanders and to deliver stronger safeguards for victims of sexual violence.
From 20 September, changes to Queensland’s Working With Children legislation will require more people who work closely with children to hold a blue card.
Key reforms include:
- Requiring more people working in child-related roles to hold a blue card, including those in entertainment and amusement park industries, sports, churches and clubs, educational services and the legal profession
- Setting consistent rules for parent volunteers
- Introducing new self-disclosure requirements
- Establishing a simpler disqualification framework
- Introducing a new suspension power to allow blue card to take immediate action when notified of a risk to the safety of children
- Strengthening compliance powers and ensuring decision-making is more responsive to risk.
A new ‘position of authority’ criminal offence also coming into effect will provide stronger protections for children aged 16 or 17 from sexual interactions with adults who have them under their care, supervision, or authority.
The offence aims to capture and deter adults in a position of authority who abuse their position of power or influence to commit sexual acts. It will protect young people over the age of consent but still under 18 years.
Offenders convicted of this offence will face a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.
The existing offence of ‘repeated sexual conduct with a child’ will extend to adults in positions of care, supervision or authority with 16 or 17 year olds, carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Protections for victims of sexual violence will also be strengthened, with non-contact orders extended from two to five years and the maximum penalty for breaches increased to three years’ imprisonment (or 120 penalty units) – bringing them into line with domestic and family violence orders.
Transitional arrangements will be in place to give workers and organisations currently working in affected industries time to meet the new requirements.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister for Integrity Deb Frecklington said the protection of vulnerable Queenslanders is a priority for the Crisafulli Government.
“Parents want absolute confidence that everything possible is being done to keep their children safe when they drop them at sports clubs, birthday parties, or amusement parks,” the Attorney-General said.
“I am committed to strengthening and safeguarding our blue card system so that Queensland delivers the strongest protections for our children,” the Attorney-General said.
“These reforms mean that some people who were previously exempt may now be required to hold a blue card, but we make no apologies for doing whatever it takes to protect our kids.”
The Attorney-General said the Crisafulli Government’s reforms send a strong message to predators who abuse positions of trust.
“New maximum sentences will crack down on adults who abuse their position of authority over vulnerable 16 or 17 year olds,” the Attorney-General said.
“We are fixing Labor’s broken child protection system that we have inherited after a decade of decline, and will do whatever it takes to ensure our Queensland children are protected.”