From today, 1 July 2020, a National Police Certificate cannot be used by people working or volunteering with children in South Australia. Instead, people must have a valid Working with Children Check.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) Acting Chief Executive Lois Boswell said DHS has processed more than 120,000 applications for the new check since the transition period began one year ago, including 44,000 free checks for volunteers.
“The Working with Children Check is an important safeguard for children in our community,” Ms Boswell said.
“Engaging a person in paid or volunteer work without a valid Working with Children Check is an offence.
“This is an important reminder to organisations to ensure their staff and volunteers have the correct check.”
The State Government introduced the new Working with Children Check on 1 July last year, as recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Working with Children Checks are valid for five years, transferable across jobs and remain free of charge for volunteers. For paid employment, the check costs $115.50. There is a discounted fee for students of $63.25.
Some transitional arrangements remain in place to make it easier for people to move into the new scheme. Previous Child-Related Employment screenings are recognised as a Working with Children Check and these will remain valid until they expire.
An advertising campaign to let the community know about the move to a single clearance for working with children is currently underway.
For more information, including how to apply for a Working with Children Check, contact screening.sa.gov.au/wwcc or call the DHS Screening Unit on 1300 321 592.
More News
