Judo Western Australia (Inc.)

Judo Western Australia (Inc.) - Working with Children Check

17th of December 2005 Source: www.checkwwc.wa.gov.au
The Working with Children (Criminal Record Checking) Act 2004 was passed by State Parliament on 26 November 2004 and is scheduled to be proclaimed on 1 January 2006. This important Government initiative is part of a suite of strategies to improve the protection of children in the community. Under the legislation, people working with children in certain types of employment or volunteer work must have a national criminal record check. Working with Children Checks for certain groups will start from 1 January 2006, and be phased-in for all others over five years.
The new law aims to help protect children in Western Australia by: deterring people from working with children where they have criminal records that indicate they may harm children; and preventing people with such records, who do apply for work with children, from gaining positions of trust in certain paid and voluntary work. A Working with Children Check will not confirm that a person is suitable to work with children or is suitable for a particular job. Criminal record checks are only one of the strategies that responsible employers put in place to ensure that people who work with children are suitable to do so. Employers need to adopt good recruitment, selection, and supervision and training practices for their staff and volunteers who work with children. Detailed information about the Working with Children Check is available on the WWC website.