- Published:
- Thursday 30 October 2025 at 2:57 pm
The Social Services Regulator (SSR) has published its first annual report. The theme of the 2024–25 Annual Report is ‘Supporting the safe delivery of social services’, highlighting the SSR’s first year of operations since being established as an independent regulator for the social service sector on 1 July 2024.
“During our first year of operation, we implemented the new regulatory scheme in consultation with the social services sector, and supported service providers to transition through guidance, engagement and a streamlined registration process,” said Jonathan Kaplan, Social Services Regulator.
The 2024–25 annual report highlights the SSR’s progress in building a strong regulatory foundation and supporting safer and more accountable social services for all Victorians.
“Our focus over the next three years will be underpinned by our 2025–27 Strategic Plan, included in this report,” said Jonathan Kaplan.
“Our vision is that social services are safe and treat people with agency and dignity – our paramount consideration is the protection of service users, including children.”
The report highlights the work the SSR has done over its first year of operation, including:
- conducting 184 compliance inspections of 77 service providers at 83 sites across Victoria
- undertaking 6,233 checks of the Worker and Carer Exclusion Scheme (WCES) database, with seven carers excluded in the period, bringing the total number of disqualified/excluded carers on the WCES database to 84
- registering 361 social services with 98 per cent processed within statutory timelines
- issuing 106 improvement notices and a suspension of intake notice to a registered social service provider
- triaging 3,896 reports of notifiable incidents received from service providers
- completing 173 Child Safe Standards compliance activities, issuing 34 reminder of obligations and notices to comply and two improvement notices
- Developing our 2025–27 SSR Strategic Plan
- Engaging with the sectors we regulate through service provider visits by the Regulator and establishing our Consultative Committee, Service Provider Reference Group and First Nations Reference Group
- Developing a host of education and guidance for service providers to support them in meeting their compliance obligations, including through webinars, fact sheets and self-assessment tools.
The annual report has been developed in an accessible pdf format, which has been tagged for people who use screen readers.
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