Working with Children

A prescribed position is a position where it is reasonably foreseeable that during the course of their employment, the staff member will work with children (under 18 years) for more than 7 days in a calendar year. Staff in a prescribed position require a valid WWCC clearance.

The legislation that governs these positions is the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016.

Positions where it is reasonably expected that the staff member will work with children for more than 7 days in a calendar year. This might include:

• Staff visiting schools as part of their key responsibilities, or being in contact with students who are under 18 by email, phone or in person.
• Staff who are conducting research with child participants
• Regular one to one teaching with students who are under 18, for example music teaching in the Elder Conservatorium.

Please Note: A staff member may ‘work with children’ even if other adults are present or other adults have responsibility for the child (e.g. a teacher). Staff who only come into contact with children incidentally due to their roles having contact with the public or the student population generally do not require a Working with Children Check.

The legislation states that tertiary education is not considered child-related work. While some students may be under 18 at the start of their studies, tertiary education, primarily aimed at over 18 year olds, is not considered working with children and therefore a Working With Children Check is generally not required.

However, this provision does not extend to staff members engaged in child-related research or where the teaching is not connected with a tertiary education course.

Staff in a prescribed position must not commence work until they have a valid check.
There is a fine of up to $20k per individual or $50k per organisation if someone works in a prescribed position without the correct clearance.

Where a position is identified as prescribed and the prospective staff member requires a Working with Children Check, the Human Resources branch must check the clearance before a contract is issued.

The supervisor of the position would generally be in the best position to understand the role's main duties and decide whether it is prescribed. A Risk Assessment Tool has been developed to support this decision. If you are still not sure whether the position is prescribed or not, please seek advice from Human Resources.

A Working With Children Check (WWCC) is acceptable. 

Staff who live and work in South Australia must obtain a South Australian WWCC. Interstate or overseas WWCC are not accepted in South Australia unless the below applies.

Under Regulation 9 of the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Amendment Regulations 2019 a staff member may work with children in South Australia without a WWCC, where the staff member lives interstate and has a current child-related check from their home state and is working at an organised event in South Australia lasting no more than 10 consecutive days. In this circumstance, appropriate evidence of the current interstate child related check is required to be provided.

If the position is located outside of South Australia and the staff member does not work with children within South Australia, a South Australian WWCC is not required. The staff member requires the relevant clearance from the respective State and needs to provide a copy of the clearance to the University to record the type of clearance, the issue date and the expiry date against the staff member’s employment record.

For any staff member living and working in a state other than South Australia or overseas, it is a condition of employment with the University that the Staff Member complies with any local screening requirements as directed by the University.

Only checks which have been paid for can be used for paid employment. If you currently have a volunteer check, you will need to apply for a paid clearance to use it for paid employment in a prescribed position.

All prescribed positions are identified within the PeopleSoft HR system. If you are in a prescribed position Human Resources will record your clearance SRN, the issue date, and the expiry date against your employment record.

When you commence work in a prescribed position, we will register our interest in your clearance with the Department of Human Services Screening Unit via their portal. They will let us know if your status changes at any time or if your clearance is expiring soon.

If you leave the prescribed position, we will de-register our interest upon termination of your employment.

Please visit the screening unit website at https://screening.sa.gov.au/  to request a WWCC. 

Email: DHSScreeningUnit@sa.gov.au

Phone: 1300 321 592

The University will reimburse the cost of WWCCs for prescribed position holders in accordance with the University’s Reimbursement Procedure.

Working with Children Checks are valid for five years from the date of issue. If you are in a prescribed position and your check is expiring soon, you should renew your clearance at least 3 months prior to expiry.

Please contact the Human Resources Quality and Compliance team for a complete report of prescribed positions for your area.