(1) The Working with Children Act 2005 (the Act) assists in protecting children from sexual or physical harm by ensuring that people who work with, or care for them have their suitability to do so checked by a government body. (2) The Working with Children (WCC) Check is administered by the Victorian Department of Justice and Regulation (DOJR) and checks a person's criminal history for serious sexual, violence or drug offences and findings from professional disciplinary bodies. (3) A positive assessment from a WWC Check must be obtained before commencing paid or volunteer work in prescribed categories involving direct unsupervised contact with a child. (4) Students are considered volunteer workers for the purposes of the Act when undertaking practical or clinical placements. (5) Students undertaking child related work or placements outside Victoria should refer to Working with Children website for interstate requirements. (6) All La Trobe students undertaking child related work or professional placements. (7) Refer to Working with Children Policy. (8) Students cannot commence child related work or professional placements until the University has confirmed a positive Working With Children (WWC) assessment. Applications for WWC Checks should be completed via the Working with Children Check webpage. (9) When completing the form students need to take note of the following: (10) La Trobe University students who wish to undertake child-related work or professional placements must: (11) The WWC Check card is to be presented on request to an agency where the placement is being undertaken. (12) Students who receive a negative WWC Check assessment may apply for credit for any successfully completed subjects towards a course not requiring child-related work. (13) Colleges or Schools which conduct courses where students are required to be involved in child-related work or professional placements should, prior to the student undertaking placement: (14) The Department of Justice provides a record keeping spreadsheet for the purpose of registration. (15) Once these details have been registered, the WWC Check card should be returned to the student. (16) All course information pertaining to subjects and courses that require students to be involved in child-related work or professional placements must inform about the requirement for a WWC Check. (17) Where a Negative Assessment or Interim Negative Assessment is received from DOJ the relevant Head of School will be informed and the Notice forwarded to College General Manager for secure storage. (18) The relevant College/School, as the nominated organisation responsible for the student volunteer, will receive a copy of the student’s Assessment Notice from the Department of Justice. (19) Colleges must ensure an electronic version of WWC Check assessment is recorded. (20) The physical Assessment Notices received directly from DOJR should be retained in a secure physical file and disposed of after a period of five years from the date of the notice or from the date when the student discontinues, whichever is earlier. Advice should be sought from Records Service before destruction occurs. (21) Access to the physical and electronic records of Assessment Notices must be available only to authorised staff who have direct responsibility for students’ child-related work or professional placements. (22) If any negative WWC Notices are received, the Head of School should be notified and the hard copy record of this notice should be retained securely by the College General Manager. Any access requests to this document require permission granted by the College General Manager. (23) For the purpose of this Procedure:Working with Children (Students) Procedure
Section 1 - Background and Purpose
Section 2 - Scope
Section 3 - Policy Statement
Section 4 - Procedure
Part A - Application for a WWC Check
Part B - Student Responsibilities
Part C - College or School Responsibilities
Part D - Storage and Destruction of Assessment Notices
Section 5 - Definitions
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