Communications Toolkit

On this page:

1 Introduction
2 Key messages
3 Newsletter copy
4 Social Media content
5 FAQs
6 Contacts

1 Introduction

Working with Children Checks in South Australia

Stronger, more effective and transparent screening laws came into effect in South Australia on 1 July 2019, requiring any person who works or volunteers with children to have a Working with Children Check (WWCC).

Nearly 570,000 people in SA currently hold a WWCC. Over the past five years, we have prohibited just over 2,000 South Australians from working with children, making WWCCs a vital tool to protect children from adults who pose an unacceptable risk to their safety and wellbeing.

WWCC expiry

A WWCC is valid for five years. People who work with children need to apply again and receive clearance before their current WWCC expires. The Screening Unit in the Department of Human Services is preparing for an increase in WWCC applications in the lead up to July 2024 and beyond.

Expiry notifications

The Screening Unit in the Department of Human Services is contacting all individuals and employers to let them know when a worker’s check is close to expiry.

Individuals will receive text messages and emails to the phone number and email address supplied with their original application (or as notified to the Screening Unit if they have updated their contact information).

Organisations will receive emails sent to their representatives as assigned in the Screening organisation portal.

Employer responsibilities

Under South Australian law, it is an offence to employ, or continue to employ, a person in a prescribed position without a valid WWCC. This means employers cannot allow employees to work with children if their WWCC has expired.

Ultimately, both the worker and employer (including volunteer organisations) are responsible under the law.

Managing employee/volunteer communications

Some employers, including volunteer organisations, have their own administrative systems in place to coordinate WWCC applications, including expiry and renewal, on behalf of their workers.

To avoid confusion, all organisations who intend to manage WWCC expiry and renewal by initiating applications on behalf of their employees and/or volunteers are strongly encouraged to communicate this with their workforce.

This toolkit

This toolkit is designed to help employers, volunteer organisations, peak bodies, governing bodies and other groups to communicate with their employees, volunteers and members about the need for workers to apply again and receive clearance before their current WWCC expires.

It contains key messages, frequently asked questions and newsletter copy that you are free to use on your own communication platforms and channels. You can copy it exactly or tailor it to your needs.

2 Key messages

General

A Working with Children Check (WWCC) is valid for 5 years.
Workers in child-related roles need to apply again and receive clearance before their current check expires.
This includes paid workers (employees, contractors, self-employed) as well as unpaid workers (volunteers).
If your WWCC expires in the next 6 months, it’s best to apply again now.
Employers can apply on behalf of their workers or workers can apply themselves.
Employers must ensure that all workers in relevant roles hold a valid check.
WWCCs are free for volunteers and foster carers.
Learn more and apply online at sa.gov.au/screening.

Applications and ID

Employers, including volunteer organisations, can apply on behalf of their workers or individual workers can apply for themselves.
Employers can manage WWCC expiry and renewal through the Screening organisation portal.
Individuals can apply online at sa.gov.au/screening.
If an employer is applying on your behalf, you do not need to submit an individual application.
Allow at least 3 months for a WWCC application to be processed. Complex applications may take longer.
Workers need to verify their identity before the Screening Unit can process the application. Most people can do this online with their driver’s licence plus 1 of the following:
- Australian passport
- Australian birth certificate
- Australian citizenship certificate.

If the worker doesn’t have these documents, allow extra time to take other proof of ID to a verifying officer.

Expiry notifications and contact

When your WWCC is about to expire, the Screening Unit will try to contact you by SMS and email – but you don’t have to wait to hear from them to apply again.
Before you apply, you can ask your manager if your organisation will apply on your behalf.
Not sure when your WWCC expires? Go online to www.sa.gov.au/screening to find out. You can also update your contact details online.
Need help? Learn more at www.sa.gov.au/screening or phone the Screening Unit in the Department of Human Services on 1300 321 592 (Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm).

3 Newsletter copy

3.1 For organisations who prefers that their employees/volunteers apply for a new WWCC themselves

Feel free to adapt it to suit your organisation’s preferred channels of communication, whether that’s email, intranet, a physical notice board, or other platforms.

Short article

Is your Working with Children Check expiring soon ?

Did you know that Working with Children Checks (WWCC) are valid for 5 years? If you obtained a WWCC in 2019, it will expire this year. Make sure your contact details are up to date with the Screening Unit in the Department of Human Services, so they can contact you when your check is about to expire.

You must apply again and receive clearance before your check expire to continue doing child-related work in South Australia. Go to sa.gov.au/wwcc to learn more and apply online.

Long article

Time to reapply for your Working with Children Check?

Stronger, more effective and transparent screening laws came into effect in South Australia in 2019, requiring people who work or volunteer in child-related roles to have a Working with Children Check (WWCC).

A WWCC is valid for five years. If yours expires in the next six months, it’s time to apply again. You must apply for a new WWCC and receive clearance before your check expire to continue doing child-related work in South Australia.

Apply online at sa.gov.au/wwcc. You’ll need to provide:

any previous names you've had, including maiden names, aliases or nicknames
your address details for the last five years
proof of ID

Learn more at sa.gov.au/screening.

Working with Children Checks help keep kids safe in our communities. Thank you for doing your part!

3.2 For employers that intend to apply on behalf of their workers

Feel free to adapt it to suit your organisation’s preferred channels of communication, whether that’s email, intranet, a physical notice board, or other platforms.

Working with Children Check expiry – what you need to know

Did you know that a Working with Children Check (WWCC) is valid for five years? If yours expires in the next six months, you will start to receive reminder notices by SMS and email from the Screening Unit in the Department of Human Services telling you it is time to apply again.

At [insert organisation name], we are proud to support our [staff and/or volunteers] by managing WWCC applications and renewals on your behalf. There is no need for you to submit an application, as we will do this for you.

To ensure that the application process is smooth, please remember to keep us updated on any changes to your:

name, including maiden names, aliases or nicknames
residential address
contact information

Please speak to [your manager/HR department/etc] if you have any questions.

4 Social Media content

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5 FAQs

5.1 For individuals

How do I know when my check expires?

The Screening Unit in the Department of Human Services will try to contact you by SMS and email up to 6 months before your current check expires – but you don’t have to wait to hear from them to act. You can go online now to find out the expiry date of your check and update your contact details. Go to www.sa.gov.au/wwcc.

How do I apply for a WWCC?

Apply online at www.sa.gov.au/wwcc. You’ll need to provide:

any previous names you've had, including maiden names, aliases or nicknames
your address details for the last five years
proof of ID

Most people can verify their identity online with their driver’s licence plus 1 of the following:

Australian passport
Australian birth certificate
Australian citizenship certificate.

If you don’t have these documents, allow extra time to take other proof of ID to a verifying officer.

How long will it take for my application to be processed?

Allow at least 3 months for your application to be processed. Complex applications may take longer. You must verify your ID and pay the fee (if applicable) before your application can be processed.

Will my employer apply on my behalf or should I apply myself?

Check with your manager or HR department.

Does everyone who works with children need a WWCC?

You need a Working with Children Check if you are 14 or over and you do:

child-related work as a volunteer or employee for more than seven days a year
any child-related work that involves overnight stays, or close personal contact with a child with a disability.

You also need a Working with Children Check if you run a business where employees or volunteers do child-related work.

Parents or guardians do not require a Working with Children Check if the child-related work is voluntary and involves their own child.

What is child-related work?

It can include a wide range of industries and roles, such as:

foster care and child protection services
Childcare or child-minding services
Clubs and associations with significant membership or involvement of children
Coaching or tuition services for children
Commercial services provided to children (eg, play gyms, bouncy castles, face painting, photography of children)
Disability services for children
Education services, including pre-school , primary and secondary teachers, and Department for Education employees
Emergency services
Health services for children
Justice and detention services for children
The provision of traffic control at, or other supervision of, school pedestrian crossings.
Transport services for children
Services or activities provided by religious organisations

The following is NOT child-related work:

Where the service or activity is provided for a personal or domestic service. For example, if a grandparent, aunt or uncle provides care to a child while their parent is out.
Where you employ or supervise a child in the course of a service or activity that is not child-related work. For example, the owner of, or a supervisor at, a supermarket that employs or supervises children. Here, the service being provided is not child-related work.
Where you undertake the service or activity in the same capacity as a child. For example, an adult playing in a football team alongside a child does not need a Working with Children Check (however, they do need a Working with Children Check if they are coaching or volunteering in some other capacity for the football club).

Any other service or activity in the course of which contact with children occurs incidentally or would not reasonably be expected to occur.

5.2 For organisations applying on behalf of employees/volunteers

My organisation manages applications on behalf of our employees/volunteers. Can the Screening Unit not contact our workers directly?

The Screening Unit has a mandate to let people who hold a WWCC know when their check is due to expire or has expired. This is essential to the proper functioning of the worker screening system. WWCCs are transferrable across employers and roles. Some organisations choose to apply on behalf of their workers and others do not. Some workers prefer to manage the application process individually and others do not. For these reasons, the Screening Unit will notify all workers before their WWCC expires. We cannot make exceptions.

If you are concerned that this may cause confusion for your employees/volunteers, please use your own direct channels of communication with your workforce to let them know that you will manage applications on their behalf.

How do I know when my workers’ checks are due to expire? How do I initiate an application on their behalf?

Organisations can find all the information they need in the Screening organisation portal. Visit our sa.gov.au webpages to learn more about the organisation portal including how to manage expiries and renewals.

I have more questions about WWCCs and the organisation portal.

You can learn more at www.sa.gov.au/screening where you can also:

download a WWCC information pack for organisations (PDF 1MB)
download a Screening organisation portal user manual (PDF 2MB)
download helpful information on how to set up your portal (PDF 280KB) including assigning roles (site administrator, verifying officer, finance officer, requesting officer, etc).

If you require further assistance, phone us on 1300 321 592 (Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm).

What is work on re-application?

Workers who complete a WWCC application before their current WWCC expires are eligible to continue working with children while their application is finalised. This is called ‘work on re-application’.

How would I know that my worker qualifies for work on re-application?

You can view the status of workers linked to your organisation, including their work on re-application status, in the Screening organisation portal. It is your organisation’s choice to allow eligible workers to work on re-application or not.

The Screening Unit will tell you when a worker’s WWCC expires and if they are eligible to work on re-application or not. You must register an interest in the worker through the organisation portal to receive these notifications.

The Screening Unit will also tell a worker when their WWCC expires and if they are eligible to work on re-application or not.