A prescribed position is an employee or volunteer who works with children, or works in a position in which, during the ordinary course of their duties, it is reasonably foreseeable that they will work with children.
Employers must not employ a new person, or continue to employ a person, in a prescribed position unless they have verified that the person has had a Working with Children Check (WWCC) conducted in the preceding 5 years and that they are not prohibited from working with children.
Verification is the process of confirming that a potential new employee or an existing employee has had a WWCC and is not prohibited from working with children. Verification must be done online, sighting a persons WWCC outcome email is not sufficient. Employers and organisations can verify a WWCC through their organisation portal.
Employers who do not comply with these requirements are guilty of an offence under the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016 .
As an employer you must:
- identify and keep records of roles within your organisation which are prescribed positions and need a Working with Children Check.
- register your organisation with the Screening Unit and set-up an organisation portal, nominate users to perform certain functions and receive notifications from the Screening Unit
- keep your organisation portal user contact details up to date
- verify new employees and volunteers have a WWCC before they work in a prescribed position
- confirm existing employees or volunteers renew their WWCC every 5 years
- keep records of when you have verified an employee's WWCC
- register an interest of everyone working in a prescribed position through your organisation portal
- manage employee WWCC expiry and renewal, including starting applications on their behalf
- remove any employee from a prescribed position:
- whose WWCC has expired and ensure the person doesn't work with children
- who is prohibited from working with children and ensure prohibited persons do not work with children.
Notifying the Screening Unit
You must notify the Screening Unit immediately if you become aware of certain information in relation to an employee.
If you receive an email from the Screening Unit advising you that a current employee has become prohibited from working with children, you must immediately remove them from a prescribed position. It doesn't matter whether they are paid or unpaid, supervised or unsupervised.
Related information
Contact
Online
Contact the Screening Unit with any queries about new or existing screening checks.
Phone
1300 321 592
Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
