IN A failure of the state's employment screening system, 14 people assessed in 2008-09 as posing a significant risk went on to get jobs working with children. At least one had accessed child pornography.

A report by the NSW Auditor-General reveals flaws in the system of protecting children from potential abusers and molesters.

''There's a safety net, it's got holes and those holes need to be mended quick smart,'' the Auditor-General, Peter Achterstraat, said yesterday.

The first audit of the program since its inception almost 10 years ago found that:

> It did not reliably identify all people who posed a risk;