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HR-POL-05 – Working with Children Check Policy

Posted
Updated
ByAlexander Mueller
Effective Date: September 2026 Review Date: September 2027
Document Status: PUBLISHED Original Version: 2026.1
Authorised by: Chief Executive Officer Document Owner: Alexander Mueller

WARNING! – UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED! – THE ORIGINAL/LATEST/CURRENT VERSION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS KEPT ON THE STAFF PORTAL OF THE INTELLIGENT TRAINING SOLUTIONS WEBSITE

01. Objective

To enable Intelligent Training Solutions (ITS, RTO 22570) to meet Victoria’s legislative requirements relating to Working with Children Checks (WWCC) under the Worker Screening Act 2020 (Vic) and its regulations, in respect of ITS employees and contractors — including driving instructors and TAE40116-qualified trainers and assessors — who are engaged in child-related work.

02. Scope

This policy applies to all ITS existing, new and prospective employees, contractors and volunteers who are engaged, or likely to be engaged, in child-related work that usually involves, or is likely to involve, regular direct contact with a student or students under 18 in connection with ITS’s delivery of nationally accredited training and assessment.

The ‘child-related work areas or activities’ of ITS to which this policy applies include (but are not limited to):

  • classroom, workshop and practical training and assessment delivered to secondary school students under ITS’s nationally accredited courses;
  • on-road driving instruction and assessment delivered by ITS driving instructors to students under 18;
  • work placements, excursions, site visits and similar activities arranged or supervised by ITS;
  • transport services provided by or on behalf of ITS in connection with training, assessment or excursions; and
  • online learning and communication with students under 18, including via ITS’s learning management system and staff and student portals.

This policy operates alongside — and does not replace — ITS’s obligations under the Fit and Proper Person Requirements within the Standards for RTOs 2025 Compliance Requirements, which apply to ITS’s CEO, executive officers and any person who exercises control or influence over the management or direction of ITS. A current WWC clearance does not, of itself, satisfy the Fit and Proper Person Requirements, and vice versa.

ITS is registered with ASQA only and is not registered with the VRQA.

03. Definitions

  • Child/ren: any person under the age of 18 years.
  • Child-related work: work that usually involves, or is likely to involve, regular direct contact with a child. A person directly supervised by another person in their contact with children still requires a WWC clearance.
  • Direct contact: any physical, oral, written, electronic or face-to-face contact, or being within eyeshot of a child — including during a driving lesson.
  • Driving instructor: an ITS-engaged instructor (employee or contractor) who delivers one-on-one or small-group on-road or in-vehicle driving instruction or assessment to ITS students.
  • Regulator: the Social Services Regulator, which administers the Working with Children Check, the Reportable Conduct Scheme, and the Child Safe Standards for organisations without a sector-specific co-regulator.
  • Working with Children Check (WWCC): the legislative screening process prescribed under the Worker Screening Act 2020 (Vic) and conducted by the Regulator.
  • WWC clearance: the clearance issued to a person who has passed a WWCC, confirming they may undertake child-related work.
  • WWC exclusion: a notice issued to a person who has not passed a WWCC, or whose clearance has been revoked, stating they are excluded from child-related work.
  • Working with Children Card: the card evidencing that the holder has been given a WWC clearance.

04. Policy Statement

ITS requires all persons described in Scope above — including driving instructors and trainers/assessors — to undergo, or have undergone, a Working with Children Check. All existing, new and prospective employees, contractors and volunteers must hold a current WWC clearance and Working with Children Card before engaging in work in any child-related work area or activity.

It is the responsibility of each employee, contractor, driving instructor or volunteer to obtain a WWC clearance and Working with Children Card before engaging in work of a kind covered by the Worker Screening Act 2020 (Vic). Clearance must be verified by ITS before the person commences child-related work — it is not sufficient for an application to merely be in progress.

ITS will fund the initial application costs of WWC Checks for current and existing employees. New employees will be required to present, and have sighted, their WWC clearance and Working with Children Card prior to commencement of employment. Driving instructors and other contractors will be required to fund their own WWC Check costs unless otherwise approved by Alexander Mueller or Cameron Gutterson. WWC volunteer checks are currently free of charge; however, a clearance given to a volunteer cannot be used by an employee or contractor.

Consent to a WWC Check will be required from existing employees prior to a WWC Check being conducted. The WWC Check will be conducted and administered by the Regulator.

A WWC clearance is valid for five (5) years, as legislated. ITS will monitor and record renewal dates for all casual, sessional, contract (including driving instructors) and other personnel on ITS’s WWC register.

Where there is a relevant change of circumstance relating to the holder of a WWC clearance, ITS will be notified by the Regulator. The Regulator may impose an interim bar or suspension while the holder is being assessed, and may refuse or revoke a WWC Check following a risk assessment.

05. Eligibility Criteria

Trainers and assessors registered under the Victorian Institute of Teaching Act 2001 do not require a separate Working with Children Check, as their VIT registration satisfies an equivalent screening requirement; ITS should confirm and record this basis where relied upon.

All other employees, contractors, driving instructors and volunteers engaged in child-related work as described in Scope must hold a current WWC clearance — there are no other exemptions.

Because on-road and in-vehicle driving instruction typically involves sustained one-on-one direct contact with a student, ITS treats driving instructor roles as child-related work requiring a current WWC clearance regardless of whether the instructor is engaged as an employee or contractor.

06. Procedure

  1. Before commencement: the person’s WWC clearance and Working with Children Card must be sighted and verified by ITS. Commencement of work in a child-related role must not occur while an application is merely in progress.
  2. Funding: ITS funds initial WWCC costs for employees; driving instructors and other contractors fund their own unless otherwise approved.
  3. Register: the collection, recording and storage of WWC information is maintained on ITS’s WWC register, in accordance with ITS’s Privacy Policy, including renewal dates (WWC clearances are valid for 5 years).
  4. Renewal: it remains the responsibility of each individual to renew and fund their own WWC clearance and Working with Children Card when it expires, following the initial check and sighting of documents by ITS.
  5. If an interim bar, suspension or WWC exclusion is issued, ITS may (without limitation): cease the work; modify the work processes or duties; re-design the position or re-deploy the person to a non-child-interfacing role; not make an offer of employment or engagement; or terminate the employment or engagement, following due process — to ensure the person’s immediate removal from all child-related work.
  6. Under reforms to the Worker Screening Act 2020 (Vic) effective from 26 July 2026, the Regulator’s decisions on WWC exclusions and re-assessments may consider a broader range of information, including unsubstantiated allegations and disciplinary findings, and are no longer subject to external merits review by VCAT. A person seeking review of a WWC decision must instead apply to the Regulator’s own internal review process (subject to limited Category A exceptions). ITS will act in accordance with whatever review or appeal rights apply to the individual at the relevant time.

07. Responsibility

Alexander Mueller (Chief Executive Officer/Director) and Cameron Gutterson (General Manager/Director) are jointly responsible for the effective implementation of this policy, including decisions on funding, removal from child-related work, and engagement/termination following a WWC bar, suspension or exclusion.

Alexander Mueller and Cameron Gutterson are also responsible for administering the WWC register, including sighting and verifying clearances, and monitoring renewal dates, until ITS nominates a dedicated administrator for this task.

08. Procedure Notes and Explanations

Policy currency note: this policy reflects the Worker Screening Act 2020 (Vic) and the Victorian child safety reforms in effect or commencing across 2026, including the consolidation of the WWCC, Reportable Conduct Scheme and Child Safe Standards under the Social Services Regulator (from 23 February 2026) and the removal of VCAT external merits review for WWCC decisions (from 26 July 2026, replaced by the Regulator’s internal review process).

Note: the Working with Children Act 2005 (Vic) was repealed and replaced by the Worker Screening Act 2020 (Vic). References in earlier ITS documents to Assessment Notices, Negative Notices, or the Department of Justice as administering body should be read as WWC clearances, WWC exclusions, and the Social Services Regulator, respectively.

Legislative and regulatory context:

  • Worker Screening Act 2020 (Vic) and Worker Screening Regulations 2021 (Vic)
  • Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 (Vic) — Child Safe Standards
  • Social Services Regulation Amendment (Child Safety, Complaints and Worker Regulation) Act 2025 (Vic)
  • Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2025 — Compliance Requirements, including the Fit and Proper Person Requirements
  • National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (Cth)

09. Policy Approval and Publication

This policy has been approved for publication by the Company Directors, Alexander Mueller (Chief Executive Officer) and Cameron Gutterson (General Manager).

Signed: Alexander Mueller & Cameron Gutterson    Date: 03/09/2026

Revision History

POLICY DOCUMENT REGISTER

REVISION DATE DOCUMENT VERSION DESCRIPTION OF MODIFICATION OR AMENDMENT
1 September 2026 2026.1 Original document created
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