A high-ranking YMCA official has admitted management was at fault over staff silence on concerns about a pedophile working at the association, a day after denying management failures allowed Jonathan Lord to operate there for years. NSW general manager of children's services Liam Whitley has told a royal commission it was an "omission in his knowledge" that Lord, who is serving a minimum of six years for abusing 12 boys, was working in a Caringbah centre creche.
Justice Peter McClellan asked Mr Whitley on Thursday if staff failure to report Lord's breaches of YMCA policy to upper management was a failure of the not-for-profit's management process.
"Yes," Mr Whitley said.
Mr Whitley had previously told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on Wednesday that "failure" was too strong a word to describe management shortcomings.
Mr Whitley denies it was his responsibility to know Lord, who was hired following improper reference checks, was working in the creche.
The commission has already heard records at the creche were poorly kept to the extent staff did not know who was using the service.
Lord was also working in daycare facilities and gymnastics exercises.
Royal Commissioner Peter McClellan said the fact staff didn't report their suspicions despite existing child protection polices and "education" showed a failure in the YMCA's middle management.
Mr Whitley was pressed on last week's statement to the commission by YMCA coordinator Carine Beer that she couldn't remember being given the organisation's child protection policy.
Counsel representing the parents of Lord's victims asked Mr Whitley if he thought having a supervisor who could recall nothing of the YMCA's child protection policy was best practice.
"Do you agree ... (that is) below leading child protection policy or practice," Maria Gerace asked.
"No, I do not," Mr Whitley replied.
Hearings are ongoing.
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