Delaying commencement of the Worker and Carer Exclusion Scheme will provide more time for the out of home care sector to implement the new Scheme. It will enable out of home care service providers to focus on transitioning to one new scheme, the new social services regulatory scheme, rather than two.
The proposed delay will also provide the Regulator with more time to focus its attention on supporting providers to transition to the new social services scheme. In particular, the Regulator will focus on the approximately 500 providers who are not currently registered or within the remit of the department’s Human Services Regulator.
In delaying the Worker and Carer Exclusion Scheme, existing protections for children and young people will still continue. The Victorian Carer Register, which is the register for out of home carers and workers; and the current Suitability Panel, which determines if a carer should be disqualified, will continue to operate until the new Worker and Carer Exclusion scheme commences.
The department’s Human Services Regulator currently administers the Victorian Carer Register on behalf of the Secretary. Under the proposal to delay the Worker and Carer Exclusion Scheme, administration of the Carer Register will transfer to the Social Services Regulator from 1 July 2024, as the department’s Human Services Regulator will no longer exist.
The Bill to delay the Worker and Carer Exclusion Scheme is expected to pass through Parliament early in 2024.
If you would like any further information about this matter, please contact the department of Families, Fairness and Housing at: regulationreform@dffh.vic.gov.au