If your workers or volunteers are teachers or early childhood teachers who are currently registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT), they’re exempt from holding a Working with Children Check, unless they’ve been given a Negative Notice. This is because registration with VIT is only granted to people who are appropriately qualified and assessed by VIT as ‘suitable to teach.’

If you’re unsure whether your worker or volunteer is currently registered with VIT, you can check their registration status (External link) on the VIT website (External link).

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Requirement for teachers to notify WWCCV of child-related work

All teachers and early childhood teachers registered with VIT must notify Working with Children Check Victoria (WWCCV) of any child-related work they do outside of their teaching in a school or early childhood service, regardless of whether it is paid or voluntary work. If a teacher’s VIT registration is suspended or cancelled, WWCCV may notify the relevant organisations that the teacher exemption no longer applies.

A registered teacher who does child-related work- other than teaching in a school or early childhood service- must notify WWCCV of this work by completing the Teacher notification form.

Go to the Teacher notification form

What if their VIT registration is suspended or cancelled?

If your worker’s VIT registration is suspended or cancelled, the teacher exemption no longer applies. They must apply for a Check.

WWCCV will notify you if your worker’s VIT registration is suspended or cancelled, provided they’ve listed your organisation’s details using the Teacher notification form.

What’s the difference between VIT registration and the Check?

  Victorian Institute of Teaching registration Working with Children Check
Purpose VIT registration is a legal requirement for all teachers who undertake the duties of a teacher in a school or an early childhood service. These legal requirements are set out in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. The WWC Check is a legal requirement for all individuals engaging in paid or voluntary child-related work in a relevant occupational category, as defined by the Worker Screening Act 2020, unless the individual is exempt from the Check.
Renewal Registered teachers and registered early childhood teachers are required to apply to VIT to renew their registration every year.
Provisionally registered teachers, and provisionally registered early childhood teachers are granted registration for a period of up to 2 years and must make a new application if they would like to continue teaching in Victoria after this period.
People who have been granted permission to teach have this permission for a period of up to 3 years and must make a new application if they would like to teach or hold permission to teach after this period.		 A Check is valid for five years after which cardholders must apply to renew their Check if they wish to continue doing child-related work.
Offences and matters considered The VIT considers:
  • Charges, convictions or findings of guilt particularly sexual, violent or drug related offences or offences that demonstrate that the person may pose an unjustifiable risk to children
  • Some serious charges that have been dealt with other than by way of conviction or finding of guilt
  • Certain decisions made by other organisations such as negative notices and interim negative notices issued by WWCCV and decisions made by the Suitability Panel
  • Reportable allegations and findings of reportable conduct referred by the Commission for Children and Young People
  • Decisions to suspend or cancel registration as a teacher in another State or Territory or another country
  • Disciplinary action taken by an employer.

Under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, VIT can also consider issues associated with conduct and competence as well as any impairments that may seriously detrimentally affect the person’s ability to practise as a teacher.

The Check considers:

  • charges, convictions or findings of guilt for sexual, violent or drug offence
  • some serious charges that have been dealt with other than by way of conviction or finding of guilt
  • charges, convictions or findings of guilt for any offence that represents an unjustifiable risk to the safety of children
  • certain disciplinary findings (i.e. suspension or cancellation of VIT registration and disqualification of registration by the out-of-home-care Suitability Panel)
  • findings by VCAT in respect of health professionals
  • findings of reportable conduct referred by the Commission for Children and Young People
  • some offences against the Worker Screening Act 2020.
Refusal Vit must refuse to register a person as a teacher and/or early childhood teacher in the following circumstances:
  • where the person has been charged, convicted or found guilty of a category A offence (as defined in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006)
  • where the person has been charged with a category B offence (as defined in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006) and the VIT considers that the person poses an unjustifiable risk to children
  • where the person has been issued with a negative notice under the Working with Children Act 2005.
VIT may refuse to register a person as a teacher and/or early childhood teacher in various other circumstances that relate to the person’s suitability, fitness, character, conduct and competence. 

A person will be refused a Check if they’ve been charged with or found guilty of certain serious offences, or if they’re assessed as posing an unjustifiable risk to the safety of children.
The seriousness of the offence will determine the type of assessment. For example, the most serious offences for the purposes of the Check are assessed as Category A, which will result in the automatic refusal of a Check.
Suspension or cancellation

VIT must cancel a person’s registration if they have been convicted or found guilty of a category A offence as defined in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, or if they have been issued with a negative notice under the Working with Children Act 2005.
VIT must suspend a person’s registration if they have been charged with a category A offence as defined in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 or if they have been issued an interim negative notice under the Working with Children Act 2005.
VIT may suspend a person’s registration if they have been charged with a category B offence as defined in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. VIT may also suspend a person’s registration on an interim basis if the VIT consider that the person poses an unacceptable risk of harm to children, and the suspension is necessary to protect children.

 A person’s Check is valid for five years, during which time WWCCV is continually notified about new charges or offences against them. A Check may be suspended or revoked if a person is charged with, or found guilty of a relevant offence, or if a professional conduct finding is made against them.
Notification of cancellation

When VIT cancels the registration of a teacher or early childhood teacher because of a category A offence or a negative notice, VIT will notify WWCCV, the teacher’s employer, interstate teacher registration authorities and Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria.

WWCCV will then advise any organisation who engages the person in any child related work (other than teaching) provided that the WWCCV has been notified of this information.

VIT also maintains a Register of Registered Teachers. An extract of this register can be viewed online at the VIT website (External link).

When a Check is suspended or revoked, WWCCV notifies all workplaces the cardholder has listed on their application.
When WWCCV is notified by the VIT that a person’s VIT registration has been cancelled or suspended, it may also notify any non-teaching workplaces the person has notified WWCCV of that they are no longer exempt from a Check.

If your worker’s or volunteer’s VIT registration is no longer current and their role involves child-related work, ensure they apply for a Check.

The current status of a person's Check can be viewed online at Check Status.

Related pages

Resources

Resources

Helpful guides, links and information to help you understand the Working with Children Check.