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Working with children check |
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Suitability cards are now a requirement in most states in Australia. As they are overseen by each State Government, the legislation around each differs.
In Victoria The Working with Children Act 2005 (Access online at: http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/Working+With+Children/Home/WWCC+-+Working+with+Children+Act+2005) requires that people who work or volunteer in certain child-related work apply for, and pass, a Working With Children (WWC) Check. It aims to strike a balance between protecting children under 18 years of age, promoting volunteering and safeguarding the rights of individuals.
Applicants are checked to make sure their record does not include any criminal offences specified in the Act or findings by a specified professional disciplinary body (currently only the Victorian Institute of Teaching and the out home care Suitability Panel). Criminal offences not specified in the Act can also be considered if there is a potential link to a risk to the safety of children and exceptional circumstances may exist that justify refusal of the application.
Under the Working with Children Act 2005, only people engaging in ‘child-related work’ must apply for and pass the Working with Children (WWC) Check. Not everyone whose work brings them into contact with children will need to apply for a WWC Check.
You need to apply for and pass the WWC Check if you meet all of the following criteria:
• your work or volunteer role involves contact with children in connection with one of the 20 listed child-related occupational fields
• you volunteer or do this work on a regular basis
• you have direct contact with children under 18 years of age and are not directly supervised
• you do not qualify for an exemption from the need for a WWC Check.
An exemption means that you do not need to apply for a Working with Children (WWC) Check, even if you undertake ‘child-related work’. If an exemption applies, a person is not prevented from applying for a WWC Check.
The WWC Check exemptions are:
• people under the age of 18 years
• parent volunteers whose child ordinarily participates in that activity
o This exemption only applies to volunteer parents who participate in their children’s activities. For example: Brett is a volunteer coach for a school football team on which his son Joshua ordinarily plays. Brett does not have to apply for and pass the WWC Check to do this even if Joshua does not attend some of the practice sessions or games.
• people ‘closely related’ to each child they have contact with in their ‘child-related work’
o ‘Closely related’ means you are the child’s: parent, spouse, step-parent, mother-in-law or father-in-law, grandparent, uncle or aunt, brother or sister (including half-siblings and step siblings, brother-in-law or sister-in-law). ‘Closely related’ also includes de facto relationships. ‘Spouse’ includes domestic partners, as defined in the Relationships Act 2008. For example: Karen does not need a WWC Check in order to home school her daughter and her nephew as she is closely related to both of the children.
• 18- or 19-year-old student volunteers where the volunteer work is at or has been organised by the student’s educational institution
o For example: Khalil, 18, is a student at Happy Valley Secondary College. He has been asked to lead a peer support group of Year 7 students. As this activity has been organised by his school, he does not need to apply for a WWC Check to do this.
• visiting workers who do not ordinarily live and perform ‘child-related work’ in Victoria
o For example: Keith lives in New South Wales and coaches a baseball team that is selected to play in a one-off competition to be held in Victoria. Because Keith does not ordinarily live and perform ‘child-related work’ in Victoria and will only be in Victoria for a few days, he does not need to apply for a WWC Check.
• sworn police officers (who are not suspended from duty)
o Sworn police officers are exempt from needing a WWC Check for any ‘child-related work’ as they are already checked by a similar scheme.
• teachers who have current registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching
o Teachers with current registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching are exempt from needing a WWC Check for any ‘child-related work’ as they are already checked by a similar scheme.
How to Apply
If you have determined that you are required to apply for a Working with Children (WWC) Check and your occupational field is currently being phased in, you need to:
1. Complete a WWC Check application form. Do not sign the form as you will need to do so when you lodge your application. Application forms are available from participating Australia Post outlets or by submitting the Application Forms Request form on the Department of Justice website.
2. Prepare your original identification documents.
3. Organise a passport-size photograph.
4. Take your completed application form, original identification documents, passport-size photograph and, unless you are a volunteer, the $73.90 application fee to a participating Australia Post outlet.
Working with Children (WWC) Check card holders:
• must advise the Department of Justice of any ‘relevant change in circumstances’, including if you change your name.
• should advise the department of any change of address details
• should advise the department of any change of employer or volunteer organisation, including changes to their contact details.
WWC Checks are valid for five years, unless a relevant change in circumstances results in a Negative Notice being issued before the expiry date.
You may apply for a new Assessment Notice six months before or up to three months after the expiry date on your WWC Check card.
It is an offence to continue to undertake ‘child-related work’ if you do not hold a valid Assessment Notice.
Working with Children Check Unit contact details
Department of Justice
GPO Box 1915
Melbourne VIC 3001
Information Line: 1300 652 879
Hours of operation are 8:30am - 5pm weekdays (excluding public holidays)
Website: http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/Working+With+Children/Home/
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