Regulator found sex offender exempt from needing Working With Children Check

San Maung Saw Wah, the president of Melbourne Karen Buddhist Association. (Facebook) The president of the Melbourne Karen Buddhist Association was convicted of sexually assaulting a child in 2015. Despite concerns raised about the charity organisation to the Commission for Children and Young People last year, the former child regulator told the president he was exempt from needing a Working with Children Check. The president has declined to be interviewed, and the organisation says it is "reviewing its policies and compliance requirements". Link copiedShareShare articleA convicted child sex offender serving as the president of a Melbourne community organisation received an exemption from requiring a Working with Children Check (WWCC) by Victoria's child safety regulator last year. Warning: This story contains details some readers may find distressing. San Maung Saw Wah, 73, leads the Melbourne Karen Buddhist Association Inc. (MKBA), which organises cultural programs hosting children as young as six, according to the information it submitted to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. The ABC can reveal that last year, then-child safety regulator the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) received concerns about the not-for-profit organisation. In Victoria, registered sex offenders are prohibited from engaging in child-related work or from applying for a WWCC. However, the CCYP told Saw Wah in November 2025 that the legislation requiring staff and volunteers at charity and religious organisations to hold a WWCC did not apply to the MKBA. The CCYP said at the time that the MKBA was "likely exempt from the requirement to comply" with child safety standards set out by the law as it did not "exercise care, supervision or authority over children". Photos and videos publicly available on social media show children are regularly present at MKBA events. It is unclear what activities the CCYP reviewed in its determination. The CCYP did not respond to the ABC about how it made its recommendations to the organisation. The MKBA declined to respond to the ABC's questions and said in a statement that it was "reviewing its policies and compliance requirements in relation to the Victorian Child Safe Standards and guidance from the Commission for Children and Young People." The ABC understands that Saw Wah informed Victoria Police about his involvement with the organisation. When asked about Saw Wah, a spokesperson for Victoria police said it "would never confirm the identity of who may or may not be subject to an investigation." Saw Wah was seen interacting with children at a youth camp held by the organisation in 2022. (Facebook) A photo posted on social media shows Saw Wah attending a ceremony sitting metres away from children in October 2025. Another photo from May 2024 shows him posing for a group photo with a number of people, including children. In a video from August 2023, he can be seen attending a ceremony sitting near a group of children. Just a month before being told he did not need a WWCC by the former regulator, Saw Wah could be seen sitting near a group of children. (Facebook) An April 2022 photo appears to show him creating a banner for a youth camp, which saw 70 young adults and children from across the state staying at the organisation's monastery in Mount Wallace across three days. The ABC contacted Saw Wah for comment, but he declined to be interviewed and did not respond to written questions. Saw Wah was convicted and imprisoned for sexually assaulting a young girl during a dance practice at his home in 2009, while he was the head of the Australian Karen Dance Association. He was initially convicted of the assault in 2013, which he successfully appealed, before he was re-convicted in 2015 and received a sentence of four years and eight months in prison. The CCYP found the organisation was "likely exempt" from needing to comply with child safety standards. (Facebook) The judge found the abuse committed by Saw Wah had a "significant impact" on the victim and her family. "You were in a position of trust and were seen as a grandfather figure by the complainant and her parents, who were considerably younger and much less sophisticated than you," the judge said. An MKBA member speaking anonymously fearing backlash from the community said the exemption "doesn't really make sense" as children were almost always present at events held by the organisation. "We have to have a children's safety coordinator [at our events] … someone who is taking care of the children for that day, whether it's children's activities, drawing, painting, running or setting up jumping castles," they said. "So, I don't know why they [the regulator] are saying that we [are] exempt … I'm very disappointed." In several social media posts, Saw Wah can be sitting in close proximity to groups of children. (YouTube) Another member speaking anonymously fearing backlash from the community

Regulator found sex offender exempt from needing Working With Children Check

Key takeaways

More in international