Each state and territory runs its own working with children scheme, and the NDIS Worker Screening Check is run by a screening unit in each state and is nationally recognised. An employer in a regulated role must verify the worker's check before they start. The table shows the scheme and the running agency for each state.
By CrossNation Editorial Team. Sources checked 6 October 2026.
Adults doing child-related work in NSW must hold a Working With Children Check (WWCC). The Office of the Children's Guardian runs the scheme, and employers verify the check and keep records.
Source: NSW Office of the Children's Guardian: Working With Children Check (applicants) (retrieved 6 October 2026)
Victorian WWC Check applications are made online through Service Victoria. The Act lets most people do child-related work while an application is assessed, with listed exceptions, and the Victorian Government notes that some organisations only allow work after a Clearance is issued.
Source: Victorian Government: The Working with Children Check application process (retrieved 6 October 2026)
A Queensland blue card check assesses people who work, or want to work, with children or young people in regulated child-related employment or who run a regulated child-related business in Queensland.
Source: Queensland Government: Combined disability worker and blue card screening application fact sheet (retrieved 6 October 2026)
The WWC Check is compulsory for people doing child-related work in Western Australia (and the Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands), as defined in the Working with Children (Screening) Act 2004.
Source: Government of Western Australia: Working with Children Check (retrieved 6 October 2026)
The South Australian Government publishes the Working with Children Check obligations and responsibilities for organisations. Read that page for the current rules.
Source: SA.GOV.AU: Organisations' Working with Children Check obligations and responsibilities (retrieved 6 October 2026)
Tasmania's screening scheme is Registration to Work with Vulnerable People (RWVP). A worker requests a NDIS Worker Screening Check as part of the RWVP application and must give the details of an NDIS employer.
Source: Tasmanian Department of Justice: Apply for a NDIS Worker Screening Check (RWVP) (retrieved 6 October 2026)
Two kinds of screening matter to most employers in care and education. The first is the working with children scheme, which is state based and has a different name in several places: Working With Children Check, Working with Children (WWC) Check, blue card, Ochre Card, or Working with Vulnerable People registration. The second is the NDIS Worker Screening Check, a national tool that each state or territory screening unit runs. Both are issued by government, not by an employer or a recruitment agency.
No. In Victoria, for example, the NDIS Check does not replace the Working with Children Check, so a worker who also works with children needs to keep both current. Queensland runs a combined application for a blue card and disability worker screening. Check which schemes apply to the role you are hiring, because the role, not the sector label, decides the requirement.
In the states where the scheme requires it, the employer must verify a worker's check before they start and keep a record. For example, NSW employers verify the check and keep records, and the South Australian Government publishes the obligations for organisations on its Working with Children Check pages. In the Northern Territory an Ochre Card is a no card, no start rule unless the employer applies for an exemption.
For NDIS work, yes in most cases, because the check is nationally recognised. Queensland says a worker who holds a valid NDIS worker screening clearance from another state or territory does not need to reapply, and Tasmania says it does not need a Tasmanian registration for NDIS work if the worker holds an NDIS Worker Screening Check from another state. Working with children schemes are state-based, so a clearance from one state does not automatically apply in another. Confirm with the regulator in the state where the work is done.
CrossNation can ask candidates whether they hold a current check and pass that on, but the check belongs to the worker and must be verified by the employer or screening unit. We do not issue or verify checks. If you are hiring disability support workers, childcare educators or school support staff, put the required checks in the position description so candidates know before they apply.
The scheme names, running agencies and process notes below come from the official pages listed under Sources.
| State or territory | Schemes | Run by | One thing to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | the Working With Children Check and the NDIS Worker Check | the Office of the Children's Guardian, with identity confirmed at a Service NSW centre | In NSW the NDIS employer receives an email asking them to verify a worker's application and has 30 days to do so, so a worker whose employer does not verify it cannot progress. |
| Victoria | the Working with Children (WWC) Check and the NDIS Worker Screening Check | Service Victoria | In Victoria the NDIS Check does not replace the Working with Children Check, so a worker who also works with children needs to keep their WWC Clearance current. |
| Queensland | the blue card and disability worker screening | Blue Card Services and the Queensland Disability Worker Screening unit | In Queensland a worker in a risk assessed role who works with children with disability needs a blue card in addition to NDIS worker screening. |
| Western Australia | the Working with Children (WWC) Check and the NDIS Check | the Screening Unit within the Department of Communities | In Western Australia a person who was issued an exclusion, or had an NDIS clearance cancelled, within the past five years generally cannot apply for a new NDIS Check unless circumstances have significantly changed. |
| South Australia | the Working with Children Check and the NDIS Worker Check | the Screening Unit, through a Screening SA account | The South Australian Government publishes the Working with Children Check obligations for organisations; read them before you employ or place anyone in a child-related role. |
| Tasmania | Registration to Work with Vulnerable People (RWVP) | the Tasmanian Department of Justice, through an RWVP application | In Tasmania a worker cannot apply for an NDIS Worker Screening Check without an NDIS employer, and a self-employed worker first registers as an employer on the NDIS Worker Screening Database. |
| Australian Capital Territory | Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) registration | Access Canberra | In the ACT the Working with Vulnerable People Act covers children under 18 and adults experiencing vulnerability who use a regulated activity or service, and workers in those activities must be registered. |
| Northern Territory | the Ochre Card and the NDIS Worker Screening Clearance | NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services | In the NT an Ochre Card is 'no card, no start' unless the employer applies for an exemption, while NDIS work may start once certain criteria are met on application. |
The fee is 12% of the candidate's annual salary, charged only when a placement succeeds.
No. Each state and territory runs its own scheme with its own name, rules and process. Confirm the requirement with the regulator in the state where the work is done.
It is a national tool run by a screening unit in each state or territory, and the clearance is recognised across jurisdictions. Check the state page for how to apply.
The worker applies, and in several states the employer then verifies the application or the clearance. Check the official page for your state.
No. The check is issued by government to the worker. An agency can ask whether a candidate holds one and tell the employer.
It depends on the state and the scheme. For example the Northern Territory Ochre Card is valid for 2 years and the NSW check lasts 5 years. Check the regulator for the period that applies.
On the official pages listed under Sources, and with the regulator in the state where the work is done. Scheme rules, fees and validity periods differ and change, so check the latest position.
