Worker screening policy template for Childcare

1. Purpose

This policy sets out how [Organisation name] screens the people who work and volunteer at [service name], so that children are educated and cared for by people who hold a current Working with Children Check, and so that [Organisation name] meets its obligations under the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations and the worker screening law of [state or territory].

2. Scope

This policy applies to everyone employed, engaged or appointed to perform a role at the service, paid or unpaid. That includes:

• educators and early childhood teachers, whether full-time, part-time or casual;
• the nominated supervisor and persons in day-to-day charge;
• the approved provider and each person with management or control;
• [family day care] coordinators, educators and educator assistants, and adults who live at a family day care residence;
• volunteers and students on placement;
• staff who do not educate, such as cooks, cleaners, administrators and bus drivers; and
• agency and labour hire staff.

Each state's law defines child-related work and its own exemptions, so the check a person needs is the one for the state where the service operates. Visitors, such as tradespeople attending once and family members, are outside this policy.

3. Roles and responsibilities

• The approved provider is responsible for this policy and makes sure it is resourced and followed.
• The nominated supervisor, or [role] on their behalf, verifies each person's check before they start, sights the evidence, keeps the staff record and the worker register entry current, and tracks expiry dates and training.
• Educators and staff work only with a current check, complete child safety training on time, and tell [role] within 24 hours of any change to their Working with Children Check, working with vulnerable people check or teacher registration.
• Agencies that supply staff hold and verify each person's check, and give [Organisation name] the details the staff record and the worker register need. In Victoria, the agency connects its own workers in WWC Connect.

4. Pre-engagement checks

Before a person starts at the service, [Organisation name]:

• checks their Working with Children Check the way the state requires (see the state section below), before the first day of work or the day the arrangement is made, whichever comes first;
• records the check's identifying number, its expiry date, the date it was checked and who checked it in the staff record;
• for a registered teacher, records their teacher registration number and expiry instead where the state allows it. In Victoria a registered teacher is exempt from the WWC Check for teaching in an early childhood service. In NSW, Queensland and Tasmania the staff record needs the check itself;
• makes sure they complete Foundations of Child Safety training before they work directly with children, or within 14 days of being employed, whichever comes first [Western Australia: not yet required], and any child protection training the state requires;
• checks the qualifications, first aid and other credentials their role needs; and
• enters them on the National Early Childhood Worker Register within 14 days of engaging them, after sighting the evidence and recording the date sighted. [Western Australia: the register is not yet mandatory.]

For a person with management or control, [Organisation name] also assesses whether they are fit and proper, and notifies the regulatory authority within 14 days of their appointment.

5. Working with Children Checks by state

[Keep the section for the state or territory where the service operates and delete the others.]

6. Ongoing checks and expiry tracking

• We record the expiry date of every check and teacher registration, and remind each person [90] days before it expires and again at [30] days. A person whose check has expired does not work at the service until it is renewed or the state's renewal rules allow them to continue.
• When a person tells us about a change to their check or registration, we tell the regulatory authority within 24 hours [NSW and Victoria: follow the state variation].
• We record every change on the National Early Childhood Worker Register within 14 days of becoming aware of it, including when someone leaves or changes role.
• Advanced Child Safety training is completed by 31 March 2027 by anyone in a relevant role before 30 September 2026, and within 3 months of starting by anyone who starts on or after 30 September 2026. Foundations and Advanced training are each repeated every 2 years. [Western Australia: neither is yet required.]
• [Victoria] We update WWC Connect within 7 days for a paid worker, or 21 days for a volunteer, when they stop child-related work or their details change.

7. Ban registers

Childcare has no public register of banned workers. A person who is barred from working with children has their Working with Children Check refused, suspended or cancelled under the state's law, which is why the check is verified at the source before a person starts and kept linked or connected where the state requires it.

[If the person also works in disability or aged care: we check banning orders on the NDIS Provider Register and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission's register of banning orders.]

8. Records and retention

For each person, [Organisation name] keeps:

• their full name, address and date of birth;
• their Working with Children Check or teacher registration number and expiry date, when and how it was verified, and who verified it;
• their qualifications and child safety training, with completion dates; and
• [family day care] the family day care register, including checks for educators, coordinators, assistants and adult residents and the date each was sighted.

Staff records are kept until at least 3 years after the person last provided education and care for the service. Victorian WWC Connect records are kept for at least 7 years. [Organisation name] keeps all screening records for [7] years. The worker register does not replace these records.

Records are stored securely in [system], access is limited to [roles], and personal information is handled under our privacy policy and the Australian Privacy Principles.

9. Breaches and reporting

• A person without a current check, or whose check is suspended or cancelled, stops working at the service immediately.
• [Role] notifies the regulatory authority within 24 hours of a serious incident, a complaint alleging a serious incident or a breach of the Law, or an incident or allegation of physical or sexual abuse.
• [Role] reports conduct covered by the state's reportable conduct scheme within its timeframe: [NSW: the Children's Guardian within 7 business days] [Tasmania: within 3 business days] [Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and WA: the scheme's timeframe].
• A breach of this policy by a worker may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including ending their engagement.

10. Review

[Organisation name] reviews this policy at least every 12 months, and sooner when the law changes, for example when the worker register and child safety changes start in Western Australia.

Approved by: [name and role]. Date approved: [date]. Next review: [date]. Version: [number].