My question is to the Attorney-General. How is the Albanese government leading work with the states and territories to keep our children and young people safe?

I thank the member for his question. I want to acknowledge that tomorrow is Day for Daniel, Australia's largest national event dedicated to child safety, education and awareness. Child sexual abuse is an abhorrent crime, and perpetrators must face the full force of the law, because one instance of child sexual abuse is one too many, and we must do everything we can to prevent this from occurring.

In August, I updated the House on our progress with the states and territories on working with children checks, and it follows the Commonwealth's delivery of these reforms through the Standing Council of Attorneys-General. 'Banned in one, banned in all' is now law in every Australian jurisdiction. It means that a person prohibited from working with children in one part of Australia cannot simply cross a border and seek a clearance somewhere else. That is real practical reform, closing gaps between systems that could otherwise put children at risk.

The evidence shows that our reforms are working. In Victoria, exclusions from working with children checks have increased from 965 in 2023-24 to 1,762 in 2025-26. Just let that sink in. The number of working with children checks refused has almost doubled between that reporting period. Victorian authorities have also used strengthened powers to immediately suspend or ban 118 people based on serious safety concerns and intelligence received from police and regulators. These are exactly the kinds of reforms that the royal commission into child sexual abuse envisaged—earlier identification of risk, stronger information sharing and proactive intervention before children are harmed. Recent reporting on the extradition of Ashley Paul Griffith, known as Australia's worst paedophile, highlights why these reforms matter. Where historical allegations, regulatory information or interstate concerns exist, stronger information sharing and nationally consistent risk assessments improve our ability to take action early. I also welcome Queensland's reforms to implement the nationally consistent baseline standards and exclusion criteria agreed by SCAG.

These advances are supported by federal funding, the Albanese government's $37 million national continuous checking capability, which enables near-real-time monitoring of criminal history and represents significant progress towards a national system that better protects children and young people. There is more to do, but we will keep working every day to deliver real change that keeps our children safe.