Who needs a Working with Children Check

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You need a Working with Children Check if you are 14 or over and you do:

• child-related work as a volunteer or employee for more than seven days a year
• any child-related work that involves overnight stays, or close personal contact with a child with a disability.

You also need a Working with Children Check if you run a business where employees or volunteers do child-related work.

It is an offence to do child-related work without a Working with Children Check.

What is child-related work

Child-related work includes:

• Accommodation and residential services for children, including approved carers and foster care
  • this applies to any adults residing in a residential or other facility where care is provided to children
• Child protection services
• Child care or child-minding services
• Clubs and associations with significant membership or involvement of children
  • All workers and volunteers need a Working with Children Check regardless of whether they have direct contact with children
• Coaching or tuition services for children
• Commercial services provided to children (eg, play gyms, bouncy castles, face painting, photography of children)
• Disability services for children
• Education services, including pre-school, primary and secondary teachers, and Department for Education employees
• Emergency services
• Health services for children
• Justice and detention services for children
• The provision of traffic control at, or other supervision of, school pedestrian crossings.
• Transport services for children
• Services or activities provided by religious organisations

Prescribed positions

Legislation and some regulations may refer to a role as a prescribed position. A prescribed position is one in which a person works with children, or in which it is reasonably foreseeable that they will work with children.

What is not child-related work

The following are not child-related work.

• Where the service or activity is provided for a personal or domestic service. For example, if a grandparent, aunt or uncle provides care to a child while their parent is out.
• Where you employ or supervise a child in the course of a service or activity that is not child-related work. For example, the owner of, or a supervisor at, a supermarket that employs or supervises children. Here, the service being provided is not child-related work.
• Where you undertake the service or activity in the same capacity as a child. For example, an adult playing in a football team alongside a child does not need a Working with Children Check (however, they do need a Working with Children Check if they are coaching or volunteering in some other capacity for the football club).
• Any other service or activity in the course of which contact with children:
• occurs incidentally; or
• would not reasonably be expected to occur.

Volunteers moving to paid employment

Parents

Parents or guardians do not require a Working with Children Check if the child-related work:

• is voluntary; and
• involves their own child.

For example, if you volunteer to coach the under 10’s netball team your child plays in, you do not require a Working with Children Check.

However, you will require a check if the child-related work involves:

• accommodation and residential services for a child other than your own child
• close personal contact (eg, helping a child get dressed, or go to the toilet) with a child other than your own child.

Visiting workers

People who normally live outside South Australia, and hold an equivalent check from their home state or territory, do not need a South Australian Working with Children Check as long as the child-related work:

• occurs as part of an organised event
• does not exceed 10 consecutive days.

Organised events include events organised and run by an association, club or other body as part of the official activities of the body. For example, interstate or territory people working at a 5-day Australian Scout Jamboree will not need a Working with Children Check.

Visiting workers who do not hold an equivalent check from their home state or territory and will do child-related work in South Australia for less than seven days in a year, may not require a Working with Children Check. If the child-related work involves overnight stays or close personal contact with a child with a disability a Working with Children Check is required, even if the work with children is for less than seven days in a year.

Prohibited people

If you are currently prohibited from working with children in South Australia or another state or territory, you cannot work or volunteer with children.

If you have ever been prohibited from working with children in South Australia or another state or territory, you must have a Working with Children Check to work or volunteer with children.

Related information

• Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016
• Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Regulations 2019