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Working with Children Checks and other Suitability Checks for School Volunteers and Visitors

This policy has been updated to reflect new requirements for organisations to use the Working with Children Connect (WCC) Portal(opens in a new window) to connect their workers and volunteers to a central register administered by the Social Services Regulator. These changes come into effect on Monday 19 October and links to the new WWC Connect portal will be added on that date.

Policy

The purpose of this policy is to ensure schools comply with:

  • requirements to undertake suitability checks for adults who undertake child-related work
  • requirements to notify the Social Services Regulator (SSR) about:
    • workers engaged by the school in child-related work – for example, contractors and other workers
    • volunteers engaged by the school in child-related work
    • school council members
  • local school processes to collect and record information about visitors to government schools.

Note:

Summary

  • A Working with Children Clearance is required by law for people who do child-related work, whether they are paid or volunteering. This requirement is set out in the Worker Screening Act 2020 (Vic).
  • Schools must establish and implement school-level policies and procedures to:
    • understand how contractors, volunteers or other workers are engaged to undertake child-related work
    • assess and verify that contractors, volunteers or other workers are suitable to work with or around children. This applies to people doing child-related work and child-connected work (read definitions below)
    • notify the SSR through Working with Children (WWC) Connect(opens in a new window) about:
      • contractors, volunteers or other workers engaged by the school in child-related work
      • school council members
    • collect and record information about:
      • contractors, volunteers or other workers undertaking child-related work
      • anyone undertaking child-connected work
      • visitors to the school.
  • WWC Connect is an online service that supports organisations to meet legal requirements. Schools must use WWC Connect to notify the SSR about Working with Children Check Clearances for contractors, volunteers or other workers engaged by the school in child-related work and school council members. WWC Connect helps the SSR to keep accurate records about where people with a Working with Children Clearance are working and be able to contact a school quickly if a person’s Working with Children Clearance status changes.
  • To determine if contractors, volunteers or other workers need a Working with Children Clearance use the Working with Children Clearance Flowchart (PDF)(opens in a new window).
  • In assessing what other suitability checks are to be undertaken, schools must consider:
    • the child safety risks relevant to the contractor or volunteer role
    • if a person is engaged to do child-related work through an organisation, or as a contractor.
  • Schools must comply with the volunteer child safety screening requirements. These are outlined in Ministerial Order 1359 – Implementing the Child Safe Standards – managing the risk of child abuse in schools and school boarding premises (PDF). For guidance about child-related or child-connected work, refer to the Guidance tab.
  • Consent is not required to notify the SSR about anyone engaged in child-related work as it is a legal requirement under the Worker Screening Act to notify.
  • Schools may require a person who is exempt from holding a Working with Children Clearance to hold a Working with Children Clearance through their visitors or volunteers policy. The school can notify the SSR about the exempt person doing child-related work through WWC Connect, with their consent.
  • For information relating to suitability checks for school employees, refer to:

Details

Introduction

School leaders and school councils have a vital role in establishing a child safe culture. Schools must implement and review child safe policies and practices to minimise child safety risks.

Victorian legislation requires schools, and other organisations working with children, to:

  • take specific steps to minimise the risk of child abuse
  • notify the SSR using WWC Connect(opens in a new window) about the engagement of:
    • workers engaged by the school to undertake child-related work. For example, contractors or other workers.
    • volunteers doing child-related work
  • maintain accurate records about contractors, volunteers or other workers undertaking child-related work.

School-level policy

Schools must establish and implement school-level policies and procedures to:

  • understand how contractors, volunteers or other workers are engaged to undertake child-related work
  • assess and verify that contractors, volunteers or other workers are suitable to work with or around children. This applies to people doing child-related work and child-connected work (see definitions below).
  • notify the SSR through WWC Connect(opens in a new window) about:
    • contractors, volunteers or other workers engaged by the school in child-related work
    • school council members
  • collect and locally record information about:
    • contractors, volunteers or other workers undertaking child-related work
    • anyone undertaking child-connected work
    • visitors to the school.

The school’s local visitors and volunteers policies must be available on the school website so they are accessible to the school community.

To support schools, templates are available on the School Policy Templates Portal:

Schools can modify the templates to suit their local circumstances.

Schools must understand how contractors, volunteers and other workers are engaged to do child-related work. This helps the school decide if they need to use WWC Connect to notify the SSR about those people.

School engages a contractor, volunteer or worker

Schools can engage contractors, volunteers or other workers to do child-related work. When these people are not engaged by another organisation, the school is responsible for:

  • ensuring they have a Working with Children Clearance
  • checking that the Working with Children Clearance is current
  • connecting them to the school via WWC Connect.

Contractors, volunteers or other workers who are not engaged by another organisation could include:

  • any volunteer who supports a school activity. For example:
    • school council members
    • canteen and uniform shop assistants
    • parent volunteers supporting classroom activities, school camps, excursions, school performances
  • any individual who is engaged by the school to provide services to students and is paid by the school for that child-related work. For example:
    • music teacher
    • dance instructor
    • director of a school production
    • sports coach
  • workers engaged by the school but paid by parents/carers to do child-related work. For example, providing an extracurricular music program.

Another organisation provides the contractor, volunteer or worker

Schools also engage people who work for organisations to do child-related work. For example, a school may:

  • engage casual relief teachers through a labour hire company
  • partner with a community organisation to provide mentoring support to students
  • engage a sports academy that provides a coach for a football team
  • partner with a community organisation to provide mental health services or chaplaincy services
  • work with an agency that provides volunteers to deliver Special Religious Instruction.

In these cases, the school engages the organisation, who provides a worker or volunteer to undertake child-related work. The organisation may be paid for that service by the school.

Where an organisation has employees or volunteers, that organisation, not the school, is responsible for:

  • ensuring its employees or volunteers have a Working with Children Clearance
  • connecting its employees or volunteers via WWC Connect.

Schools must always check Working with Children Clearance details of anyone from another organisation who attends the school to do child-related work.

Assessing suitability

To check if a Working with Children Clearance is required and separately, whether the school has an obligation to connect that person through WWC Connect, schools can use the Working with Children Clearance Flowchart (PDF)(opens in a new window).

For more information about Working with Children Clearances, refer to the Guidance tab.

Child-related work

Schools must ensure that all adults doing child-related work have a current Working with Children Clearance, unless an exemption applies. The child-related work can be paid or unpaid.

Consent is not required to notify the SSR about anyone engaged in child-related work as it is a legal requirement under the Worker Screening Act to notify.

For:

  • a definition of child-related work, go to the definitions below
  • a list of exemptions, go to the Guidance tab.

Child-connected work

School principals must decide if a person needs a Working with Children Clearance based on the child safety risks of their role.

Schools can do extra screening to ensure a person is suitable to work with children.

To decide if additional screening is needed schools must consider:

  • the child safety risks relevant to the person’s role
  • the school’s visitors and volunteers’ policies.

Read 'Other screening' below and further information in the Guidance tab.

Other screening

Schools can choose to establish local policies that exceed the requirements of the Worker Screening Act 2020 (Vic). For example, schools may:

  • require people who do not need a Working with Children Clearance to hold one
  • undertake additional screening to ensure a person is suitable to work with children
  • require a person who is exempt from holding a Working with Children Clearance to hold a Working with Children Clearance through their visitors or volunteers policy. The school can notify the SSR about the exempt person doing child-related-work through WWC Connect, with their consent
  • notify the SSR through WWC Connect about anyone doing child-connected work, with their consent.

Schools should consider the child safety risks relevant to the role. If it is reasonable and appropriate, schools can collect and record:

  • proof of personal identity
  • information about any essential or relevant professional or other qualifications
  • the person's history of work involving children
  • references that address the person's suitability for the job and for working with children.

Induction

Once initial suitability checks have been successfully undertaken, schools must ensure that:

Notifying the Social Services Regulator

Schools:

  • are required to notify the Social Services Regulator (SSR) through WWC Connect(opens in a new window) about:
    • contractors and volunteers engaged by the school in child-related work
    • workers engaged by the school but paid by parents/carers to do child-related work (for example, extracurricular music program)
    • school council members
  • are not required to notify the SSR through WWC Connect about:
    • employees of contracted service providers who undertake child-related work. This must be undertaken by their employer. For example, a labour hire company
    • volunteers who undertake child-connected work (for example, parent volunteer at a working bee)
    • visitors who undertake child-connected work (for example, tradespeople).

Schools can notify the SSR through WWC Connect about:

  • a person who is exempt from a Working with Children Clearance doing child-related work, with their consent
  • anyone doing child-connected work, with their consent.

If schools do notify the SSR, the school must notify the regulator when the person starts and finishes the work. Schools can seek consent using the Consent form – Connecting your Working with Children Clearance to our school (DOCX)(opens in a new window).

Use the following steps to:

  • check Working with Children Clearance status
  • notify the SSR.

Check

Use the online WWC status checker(opens in a new window) to check the Working with Children Clearance status of:

  • a contractor or volunteer engaged by the school for child-related work. This must be done before they start the child-related work
  • workers engaged by the school but paid by parents/carers to do child-related work (for example, an extracurricular music program). This must be done before they start the child-related work
  • school council members. This must be done before they start their role.

More information on record keeping requirements is detailed below.

Connect

Use WWC Connect(opens in a new window) to notify the SSR when a person starts child-related work.

Schools will be notified via WWC Connect if a contractor or volunteer WWC status changes.

Record

Schools must notify the SSR via WWC Connect when a person starts and stops child-related work.

This must be done within 7 days for contractors and other workers and 21 days for volunteers.

Maintain

Keep WWC Connect records up to date.

Notify WWC Connect if contact details of contractors, volunteers or other workers changes.

Maintain contractor, volunteer or other worker records in line with local school procedures. The School Policy templates portal includes a Working with Children Clearance Register template (staff login required)(opens in a new window).

Changes to Working with Children Clearance Status

Schools will be notified via WWC Connect if the WWC status of a contractor, volunteer or other worker changes.

Notifications will be sent to the email address recorded in WWC Connect. Schools will not be advised of the reason for the status change.

If a contractor, volunteer or other worker is no longer permitted to undertake child-related work, they must stop that work immediately.

Schools must update WWC Connect(opens in a new window) to record that the contractor or volunteer is no longer engaged in child-related work.

Schools do not need to complete annual verification checks of the Working with children checks of contractors, volunteers or other workers in this register, because they will now be automatically notified if the WWC status of any person connected to their school changes.

Notification requirements for School Council members

From the 2026 school year, school council members, except VIT registered teachers and students, are required to hold a WWC Clearance (either a volunteer Working with Children Clearance, or employee Working with Children Clearance if they already have this), when nominating for a role on school council.

Schools must use the steps above to notify the SSR about Working with Children Clearances for school council members, when they are elected or re-elected.

Record keeping

Schools must collect and record information about:

  • contractors, volunteers or other workers undertaking child-related work
  • anyone undertaking child-connected work
  • visitors to the school.

Schools must:

  • maintain a school record of contractors, volunteers or other workers who are engaged by the school to do child-related work. This register is separate to records on WWC Connect. Schools can use the Working with Children Clearance Register template(opens in a new window) to keep these records. The register must collect and record:
    • name and contact details of the contractor or volunteer, including address, email address and phone number
    • Working with Children clearance type (for example, Working with Children Clearance or VIT registration), Working with Children Check number and date that the school verified the Working with Children Check
    • date when the person started and stopped doing child-related work
    • date when the person was onboarded and offboarded from WWC Connect
    • dates when any person that the school chooses to connect beyond the SSR requirements starts and stops doing child-connected work. The school will need the consent of that person to enter their details into WWC Connect
    • any other evidence of a person’s suitability to work with children (read other screening, above). This could be kept as a note in the register or stored elsewhere
  • keep evidence that the contractor, volunteer or other worker either:
    • holds a current Working with Children Clearance
    • are shown on WWC Connect as allowed to do child-related work while an application or renewal is processed
    • are exempt from a Working with Children Clearance
  • keep evidence that the school:
  • keep contractor, volunteer or visitor records in line with local school procedures. A Visitors policy template (staff login required)(opens in a new window) is available on the School Policy Template Portal. Schools can modify the template to suit their local circumstances
  • hold records of contractors, volunteers or other workers for 7 years after they stop doing child-related work.

Definitions

Definitions related to the Child Safe Standards and Ministerial Order 1359 can be found at: Child Safety: Definitions(opens in a new window).

Child-related work
Child-related work:

  • involves an adult working with children under 18 years old (both paid and unpaid work)
  • usually involves direct contact with a child or children (physical, face-to-face, written, oral or electronic contact) and
  • the contact with the child or children is a usual part of the person’s duties (and is not occasional direct contact which is incidental to their work).

Child-connected work
Child-connected work means:

  • work authorised by the school governing authority and performed by an adult in a school environment while children are present or reasonably expected to be present, or
  • for the purposes of a school boarding premises, work authorised by the provider of school boarding services in a school boarding premises environment while children are present or reasonably expected to be present.

Relevant legislation

Department policy on requirements for suitability checks including Working with Children Checks for volunteers and visitors who work with children in schools

Updated

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