Paedophiles were handed access to children. The office in charge of stopping this is battling a surge in allegations

A man convicted of sexting a 13-year-old girl, another of masturbating on a 16-year-old girl on a train, and a stepfather whose stepdaughter accused him of sexually assaulting her as a child – all had a ban on receiving a working with children check overturned by a tribunal on appeal.

In each case, the tribunal decided that despite the serious allegations or convictions, the men presented no real risk of harm to children and that they could resume their paid or volunteer work with minors.

In September, the NSW government banned people who had been refused a working with children check from appealing against the decision, moving reviews back to the Office of Children’s Guardian, which issues and monitors the checks.

However, the OCG’s annual report reveals the office is struggling to handle an “exponential” surge in reports of child abuse, forcing it to limit investigations to the most significant claims and to drastically reduce its oversight activities.

Last financial year, the OCG received nearly 3000 allegations of assault, sexual offences, neglect and ill treatment. Of the 2500 matters fully investigated, 15 per cent involved allegations of child sex offences and 21 per cent involved allegations of sexual misconduct. One third of the matters fully investigated were sustained.

The volume of matters meant the office focused only on the “most relatively serious and complex notifications”, using exemptions to dismiss over 500 cases from investigation.

The annual report says the office audited a “fraction” of the organisations it had the previous year due to staffing shortages, team and management restructuring, and competing operational policies. It audited 78 organisations in 2024-25, compared with 280 the previous year.

Of the 78 audited, 63 were non-compliant. Two organisations were fined a total of $3750, while the rest received reminders or warning notices.

More than two million people hold a working with children check in NSW.

Today, Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Kate Washington announced an additional $5.5 million over two years to increase compliance activities.

The funding will be used to employ additional staff, increase compliance audits for early education centres, conduct more reportable conduct investigations, expand working with children check application risk assessments, and increase enforcement actions.

“We are delivering more funding for more staff at the Office of the Children’s Guardian to audit early childhood education centres across NSW to improve child safety compliance,” Washington said.

Acting Children’s Guardian Rachael Ward, who has been in the role since the previous guardian was sacked over allegations of improper conduct, said the funding would help the office keep children safe.

“This additional funding further bolsters the Office of the Children’s Guardian to do our vitally important work of keeping children safe in NSW and will enable us to undertake increased child safety compliance and enforcement activities,” she said.

Former children’s guardian Steve Kinmond was sacked for “misbehaviour” after a report found he “seriously breached” the standards expected of his office, including failing to disclose a long-term relationship and inappropriately intervening in a matter in which he had a conflict of interest.

The report also included reports of a staff party baby shower featuring a “vulgar” game, which he had no involvement in, and his request that a contact’s WWCC be reviewed after an independent ombudsman overturned an adverse finding.

Kinmond has urged the government to publicly release confidential parts of the report that justified his dismissal, saying some of the findings “don’t pass the pub test”.

The man convicted of attacking the child on the train in the 1970s had two other assault and indecency convictions for physically and sexually assaulting his ex-partner, and masturbating in front of his female flatmate in the 1990s. He was also accused, but not convicted, of assaulting a five-year-old girl, and of sexually assaulting and detaining his then partner.

The man, now in his 60s, applied for a working with children check in 2015 to enable him to work at a hospital and a charity, but his application was rejected. In 2022, he sought to overturn this decision, which was granted in January 2024.

The man accused of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter had his WWCC cancelled after criminal charges were laid. He was found not guilty on all offences in 2018 and had his WWCC ban overturned by the tribunal in 2021. The OCG successfully appealed the tribunal’s decision in the Supreme Court.

The man convicted of sexting a teen had his ban overturned in July 2025. He was 18 at the time of the offence. The tribunal found he was “relatively immature and naive” at the time of the offence and had no other complaints or charges concerning behaviour towards children since.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028, Lifeline 13 11 14 and Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.