Loopholes that allow violent sex offenders to obtain working with children checks in Victoria will be closed if the Coalition wins the November election, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has pledged.
Key points:
The Liberals say parents should feel safe that those working with their children pose no threat.
They would stop violent criminals from being able to apply to VCAT to gain a check.
It follows an investigation which found paedophiles, rapists and sex offenders had obtained checks.
There have been several cases where sex offenders have appealed to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal after a working with children check was refused by officials.
The appeals have included a child abuser who police caught with a half-naked boy in the back of his car on a busy Melbourne road, a man who raped a 13-year-old girl, and a serial public masturbator who once chased his victim.
In April an ABC investigation uncovered that in the past five years, more than a dozen people convicted of child sex crimes, rape, obscene exposure and assault had obtained a working with children check through successful appeals.