Stronger, more effective and transparent screening laws for people working or volunteering with children have been introduced in South Australia. The new screening laws were recommended as part of federal and South Australian royal commissions, to help keep children safe in our communities. The new laws mean that from 1 July 2019 everyone working or volunteering with children must have a valid child-related check.

Also changing from 1 July 2019 is the state’s current system for child-related employment screenings, which will be replaced with a working with children check (WWCC). This new check is coming in to better protect your children and make sure that people working or volunteering with children are suitable. It does this through a monitored and more robust assessment of a person’s eligibility to work or volunteer with children. Because the check is monitored, immediate action can be taken if a person is charged with a concerning offence. The new check covers off on a person’s national criminal history including all spent convictions, pending and non-conviction charges, and other disciplinary and child protection information.

A WWCC is valid for five years and is portable across roles and organisations throughout South Australia.

Current, valid child-related employment screening checks done by DHS/DCSI will be recognised as a WWCC until they expire. There is also a 12 month transition period for anyone with a National Police Certificate assessed by their organisation, with the certificate valid till 1 July 2020.

For most people, this means they don’t need to do anything to be ready for the new law starting on 1 July 2019.

For more information about the new check visit the DHS website.