News and resources from the Office of the Children's Guardian Out-of-home care Directorate - September 2025
Out-of-home care Directorate update
The Out of Home Care Directorate attended the AbSec quarterly forum at Cockle Bay Wharf. We heard about good practices and the ongoing challenges the sector are facing. We also co-presented on our collaboration work with Curijo on the Code of Practice resources. The Curijo collaboration work will be released on the platform in 2026.
We also attended the Foster and Kinship Care Picnic hosted by Carers for Kids NSW. As a long-time sponsor, we were proud to host a lively stall that kept families entertained throughout the day. Giveaways ranged from bubbles and mini footballs to colouring-in bags and a sparkly glitter hairspray station.
The Acting Children's Guardian, Rachael Ward, recently attended the Joint Parliamentary Committee for Children and Young People and the NSW Budget Estimates.
Code of Practice
The Code of Practice Implementation Handbook supports agencies to understand the new accreditation criteria which will come into effect on 1 October 2025.
The handbook outlines:
- the 8 practice requirements against which agencies will be assessed
- how we assess compliance and evidence we may seek
- the accreditation process and pathways
Resources to support implementation of the Code of Practice
Resources for Practice Requirement 6 child protection and child safety are now available.
Practice requirement 6 resources include the difference between child protection and child safety, risk in different care environments, videos on incident management systems and practices and supporting children and young people to understand safe, appropriate relationships and raise concerns or complaints.
Other information and resources available include an overview of the Office of the Children's Guardian, our functions, transition to the Code of Practice and information on how we accredit and monitor designated agencies and adoption service providers.
Working With Children Check reforms introduced in Parliament
The NSW Government this week introduced a Bill into Parliament to amend Working with Children Checks (WWCC) laws.
The amendments will remove appeal pathways on WWCC decisions through the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, making the Office of the Children’s Guardian responsible for reviewing WWCC decisions. These changes will also move NDIS Worker Check appeals to the Office of the Children's Guardian.
Carers Register - other agency check protocol
As a result of the carer support working group, an other agency check protocol and resources were developed.
The protocol and the suggested forms are not prescribed under legislation, but they are designed to support the other agency check process when assessing an applicant’s suitability to be authorised as a carer and to create consistency across the sector. There are two forms available, depending on whether you are requesting relevant information or responding to a request.
If you have any questions please contact us:
Phone: (02) 8219 3796
Email: accreditation@ocg.nsw.gov.au
Web: www.ocg.nsw.gov.au
