Any organisation that has people who work or volunteer to provide services to children or young people is considered an 'employer'.
Working with Children Check requirements
Open allEmployers have legal obligations around working with children. It is against the law to engage anyone in child-related work without a Working with Children Check. If a worker or volunteer requires a Check, there are actions the employer must take.
Employers must:
- Register
Organisations must register as an employer by filling in an online application form that creates an online profile with us. Employers nominate a username and password so they can log into the online system and verify workers.
- Identify roles
Organisations must decide who undertakes child-related work and needs a Working with Children Check, and which roles are not child-related or fall under an exemption. Organisations must not rely on the Check in lieu of other child safe strategies by asking workers who are not engaged in child-related work to have a Check.
If you provide services to children with disability, your workers may also need an NDIS Worker Check.
- Verify
Organisations must verify Working with Children Check numbers online including:
- new workers or volunteers, firstly using their Application (APP) number and then their WWCC clearance number (except those working in the Education sector where a Clearance number is required)
- a renewed Check, updated after 5 years.
People in charge of verifying WWCC numbers must make sure their own Check (if required) is verified online by an appropriate person in the organisation. Employers cannot self-verify.- Keep records
Organisations need to keep records for each worker, including:
- Full name
- Date of birth
- WWC number
- Verification date
- Verification outcome
- Expiry date
- Whether the worker is in paid or volunteer work.
You can use or adapt our record keeping resources for your organisation.
- Monitor and act
Organisations must:
- keep their details up to date. As part of registering as an employer, organisations will nominate 2 people who are authorised to receive confidential information. These details must be accurate so we can contact you about any changes in someone's Check status.
- remind employees to renew which they can do up to 3 months before their Check expires.
- remove anyone whose Check status is barred, interim barred, whose Check cannot be found or has expired from child-related work. You can only employ people who have an Application number or Check clearance in child-related work. More information on interpreting Check statuses.
Using a third-party verifier
Some employers engage a third party to verify their workers' Working with Children Check clearance numbers and manage other information about their workers for them. The Office of the Children’s Guardian does not provide any endorsement or authorise third-party verifiers to undertake this task, and they do not have any additional access to the NSW Working with Children Check system.
Before engaging a third-party verifier, consider:
- The employer must still register with us on our system.
- If a verified worker has been barred from working with children, we advise the employer, not the third party verifier. It is the employer’s responsibility to remove that person from working with children.
- To engage a third-party verifier, the employer provides their WWCC employer registration logins to the verifying organisation.
