If any of your answers describe an activity that does not fall within the Act's definition of child-related work, a message will say that the worker does not need a Check.
Disclaimer: This tool is not a complete resource and does not form the basis of or constitute legal advice. You should consider your organisation's own circumstances, and where appropriate, seek professional advice.
Question 1
Is the worker* in this position working with or caring for children**?
*Worker refers to both employees and volunteers.
** A child is a person under 18 years of age
Question 2
Does this position fall into one of the occupational fields referred to as 'services, places, bodies or activities/ in the Act?
Please note: These occupational fields are not job titles.Look for the fields that best fits your place of work or service. Example, look for ‘Sports association' rather than 'Under-12s netball referee', and 'Paediatric ward' instead of 'Children's nurse'.
Occupational fields
- Overnight camps for children
- Child care services, including centre-based long day care, family day care, in-home care, occasional care and outside school hours care
- Supervision of child employees
- Commercial baby sitting or child minding services
- Child protection services
- Children's services under the Children's Services Act 1996 and education and care services within the meaning of the Education and Care Services National Law (Victoria) including kindergartens or preschools
- Sporting, recreational or cultural clubs, associations or movements
- Coaching or tuition services specifically for children
- Counselling or support services for children
- Educational institutions providing a program of study or training for children including TAFEs and universities that provide secondary educational services
- Commercial entertainment or party services for children that are not merely incidental to other business activities
- Fostering children
- Commercial gym or play facilities for children that are not merely incidental to other business activities
- Out of home care services
- Paediatric wards
- Commercial photography services specifically for children that are not merely incidental to other business activities
- Refuges or other residential services used by children
- *Religious organisations. *If you work as a minister of religion please do not continue answering any more questions but read the special legal obligations you have under Ministers of religion and child-related work in Who needs a Check (External link)
- School crossing service
- Accommodation services specifically provided for overseas students as part of a student exchange program under Part 4.5A of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, including accommodation in the person's home such as a homestay arrangement
- Commercial talent or beauty competitions for children that are not merely incidental to other business activities
- Commercial or publicly funded transport services specifically for children
- Youth remand, residential, or justice centres, supervision units and probation services within the meaning of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005.
- Kinship care- caring for a child placed by Child Protection under the Child
Question 3
Does the worker have direct contact* with children?
*Direct contact is face-to-face, physical, written, oral or electronic contact.
Question 4
Is the contact the worker has with children part of their duties or incidental to their work?
Example:Contact with children at a junior sports clubroom is not part of the work a plumber does, but is incidental to their duties.
Question 5
Does the worker qualify for an exemption?
List of exemptions
- People under the age of 18 years.
- Parents who volunteer in activities that their child normally participates in.
- People 'closely related' to each child they have contact with in their activity. This exemption does not apply to kinship carers (people who care for a child placed by Child Protection under the Children Youth and Families Act 2005).
- 18 or 19-year-old students volunteering in activities organised by their educational institution.
- Visiting workers who do not usually live in Victoria, and do child-related work in Victoria for a period of up to 30 days and do not do any other child-related work in Victoria in the same calendar year.
- Visiting workers who do not usually live in Victoria and hold an equivalent interstate WWC Check and do child-related work in Victoria for a period of up to 30 days in the same calendar year.
- Victorian, or Federal police officers who have not been suspended or dismissed.
- Teachers currently registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching.