What You Can Do to Protect the Members of Your Organisation
Vicsport has partnered with CVCheck to provide State and Regional Sporting Associations the opportunity to access FREE National Police Checks.
*The number of free checks allocated to this promotion will be to the value of $1,000. Allocations will be made on a first come, first served basis until the allocated amount is exhausted.
Click HERE to register for this offer.
Amendments to the Working with Children Check (WWCC) come into effect on 1 August 2017. Individuals that previously did not require a WWCC may now need one to undertake their role. This has implications to standard four of the Victorian Child Safe Standards. WWCC only assess limited findings and focuses on issues relating to the safety of children.
What is a Working With Children Check?
In Victoria, the Working With Children’s Act 2005 states individuals must have a valid WWCC if undertaking child related work. If successful, candidates are given clearance to work with children for five years unless the WWCC is suspended, revoked or surrendered.
What does a WWCC cover?
A WWCC only covers convictions for crimes against children and convictions for violent crimes such as murder or manslaughter. Someone may have an extensive criminal record for offences like fraud or theft and it would not be disclosed in the WWCC. Also, the information provided to an employer by a WWCC is limited. Due to the privacy laws that a WWCC sits under, the employer will only learn if the application has been granted or not granted – the reasons why are not provided.
A 2014 audit of all people issued with a WWCC card in Western Australia found that nearly 50,000 people issued with a card between 2005 and 2013 had a criminal record of some description. In these cases, a WWCC on these employees would not raise red flags, but a National Police Check would have.
National Police Checks
A National Police Check (NPC) is broader than a WWCC, as it lists offences like theft and fraud. However, the NPC isn’t monitored over a period of time but acts as a snapshot of a person’s offenses at the date requested. If an offense has been committed after the date of issuing the check, an organisation will not be notified. For this reason, sporting organisations are encouraged to utilise a combination of the WWCC and a NPC where practical. For example, when recruiting an accountant/treasurer a Police Check would be of benefit to identify past convictions of fraud which would not be shown in a WWCC. Getting a NPC along with a WWCC is a good way for organisations to cover all their bases, and make sure they are doing everything they can to protect their members.
Vicsport offers support programs and are here to help State Sporting Associations and Regional Sports Assemblies applying for WWCC and NPC. For more information visit the Vicsport website.
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