States and territories agree to ‘long overdue’ reforms to working with children checks by year’s end, attorney general says

The federal attorney-general, Michelle Rowland, said the most urgent priority was ensuring the working with children checks were shared between states. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

All states and territories have agreed to introduce reforms by the end of the year to close a “loophole” which allowed potential child abusers to work across jurisdictions, the federal attorney general has announced.

Following a meeting of state and territory attorneys general on Friday, Michelle Rowland announced the “long-overdue reform” to create a system that ensured those working with children who were “banned in one” jurisdiction were “banned in all”.