Residential Care Workers Register starts today
From today, all agencies that provide statutory or supported out-of-home care to children and young people in a residential setting, must access the new Residential Care Workers Register to enter the details of their existing workers, and anyone who has applied to be a residential care worker and has reached the referee check stage of the recruitment process.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, recommended that all state and territory governments should introduce legislation to establish a carer register to include foster carers, relative or kinship carers, and residential care staff.
NSW already has a register for home-based carers providing statutory out-of-home care. The new residential care workers register will be in addition to this as an important new measure to prevent unsuitable people from moving between services.
To minimise the operational impact, we have developed training videos and resources to help agencies use the new register.