Reviewed vs verified: what those words actually mean for your credentials
Most platforms blur the line between checking a document and confirming it at the source. We don't, and the distinction matters for trust in a safeguarding sector.
In a sector built on protecting vulnerable people, the words you use about credentials carry weight. "Verified" sounds reassuring. It is also frequently misused. We are deliberate about two words that many platforms blur together, because the difference is the difference between confidence and false confidence.
Two different things
Reviewed means a person has looked at a document and confirmed it is genuine, current, and matches the worker. It is a careful human check of the evidence in front of us.
Verified means the credential has been confirmed against an authoritative source: the body that issued it or maintains the record. That is a higher bar, and it is only possible where such a source exists and is accessible.
Both are legitimate. They are not the same, and treating them as the same is how trust erodes.
What we review, and what we verify
Not every credential can be verified by Koora today.
- We verify credentials where an authoritative source exists, such as a public state Working With Children Check lookup, AHPRA for registered practitioners, and government ban registers.
- The rest, such as National Police Checks (Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks), qualifications and training records, are checked by the compliance engine against the role's requirements. A person reviews those documents themselves once a worker shares their passport or a provider requests access, or across an organisation's own records through the Crew service.
Where verification at source is not yet available, we say "reviewed", not "verified". Some of those sources are on our roadmap. When that changes, the language changes with it.
Why we won't blur it
It would be easy, and tempting, to call everything "verified". It tests better in marketing. But in a safeguarding context, a provider relying on the word "verified" needs it to mean what it says. If we stretched the word to cover a document we had only reviewed, we would be handing providers a confidence they had not actually been given.
The obligation still sits with the provider
Reviewing or verifying a credential does not remove a provider's legal responsibility for who they engage. Koora gets credentials organised, checked against the role and kept current. The provider's own team reviews each one in Koora, or Crew does it for them, and the provider still makes the call. We will never imply otherwise.
What this means for you
If you are a worker, it means the credentials on your Career Passport are described accurately, which is exactly what makes them worth sharing.
If you are a provider, it means you can tell, at a glance, which credentials have been confirmed at source and which have been reviewed, and weigh them accordingly. That distinction is the point. For how this fits the wider picture, see the worker screening and compliance guide, and for what to demand of any tool, choosing care sector compliance software.
This is general information, not compliance advice. Always confirm requirements with the relevant regulator, and remember that providers keep the legal responsibility to sight credentials and decide who can work.
We work hard to keep everything accurate, and our compliance engine keeps up with the rules as they change. Even so, we might get a detail slightly wrong or miss something. No one's perfect. If you think something here needs updating, email us at resources@koora.care. We would genuinely rather know, because we all do better when we help each other get it right.
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