A vulnerable person-related employment check may be needed by:
- volunteers working in community services, for example, mental health, homelessness, migrant services, women’s services, youth support services
- health and allied health professionals.
There are no laws requiring people to have this type of check, but an organisation may want you to have one as a condition of working with them.
Vulnerable person-related employment checks are valid for three years. You can apply for a new check if your existing check will expire within six months.
If your work requires you to have a Working with Children Check or an NDIS worker check you will not require a vulnerable person-related check.
How to apply
For individuals
Your employer will tell you if you need a vulnerable person-related employment check.
You can apply for a new vulnerable person-related employment check if your existing check will expire within six months.
For sole traders, contractors or self-employed workers
If you are a sole trader, contractor or self-employed, and you do not employ workers or volunteers, you can apply for a check as an individual.
If you are a sole trader, contractor or self-employed and you do employ workers or volunteers, you can register as an organisation to apply for a screening check for yourself and initiate your employees' checks.
For employers and organisations
An employer can initiate a vulnerable person-related employment check on behalf of a current or prospective employee or volunteer.
To do this, your organisation needs to be registered with the Screening Unit. Once you have registered, you can start lodging applications on behalf of individuals.
Register with the screening unit
Before you start an application on behalf of an individual, you will need to know:
- your organisation’s Screening Unit login details
- what type of check you need to apply for
- that the individual has given their consent for your organisation to do a check
- the individual’s full name, date of birth and email address.
When you have completed the organisation component of the application, the Screening Unit will email login and password details to the individual, to complete and submit the application.
Organisations that initiate vulnerable person-related employment checks have the option to use organisation-verified ID if a verifying officer has been nominated.
Information for check holders
After a vulnerable person-related employment check is granted, information sources (from bodies including SA Police) are monitored for any new information relevant to a person's check status.
If new information means a person's clearance status is changed or revoked, the person and known organisations will be notified.
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