Western Australian school principals have been instructed to stop asking contractors on site for Working With Children Checks, after an increase in requests hindered the completion of repairs or upgrades.
The Department of Education sent a notice to principals in January after it was observed that more contractors working on school grounds were being asked to apply for the check, which aims to protect children from harm by those who work with them.
Principals were told too many tradespeople were unable to do their jobs due to not having the checks. Credit: Quentin Jones
“Schools are reminded that building and maintenance contractors are not required to have a Working With Children Check,” the notice said.
“The Department of Communities has identified a recent trend of contractors being incorrectly directed off-site to apply for a WWC Check, in particular air conditioning maintenance workers (and) technicians and installers from the Solar Schools program.
“Another recent trend relates to supervisors of VET students on work placement being incorrectly directed off-site to apply for a WWC Check.”
The notice went on to state anyone who applied for a check when they were not legally recognised as being in child-related work would not have their applications processed, or their application fee refunded, which was causing issues for contractors.
Who requires a WWC?
Under Section 6 of the Working with Children (Criminal Record Checking) Act 2004 people in child-related work require a Working with Children Check only if the usual duties of the work involve, or are likely to involve, contact with a child in connection with one of the following categories:
1. a child care service
2. a community kindergarten
3. an educational institution for children. Includes any school
4. a coaching or private tuition service of any kind
5. an arrangement for the accommodation or care of children
6. a placement arrangement or secure care arrangement under the Children and Community Services Act
7. the performance by an officer, as defined in the Children and Community Services Act 2004, of a function given to the officer under that Act.
8. a detention centre
9. a community child health service
10. a counselling or other support service
11. a religious organisation
12. a club, association or movement (including of a cultural, recreational or sporting nature and whether incorporated or not) with a significant membership or involvement of children
13. a ward of a public or private hospital in which children are ordinarily patients
14. a baby sitting or child minding service
15. an overnight camp
17. a school crossing service
18. a children’s entertainment or party service.
One principal, who did not want to be named, said the notice had shown a blatant disregard for the efforts of school staff who were trying to ensure students were as protected as possible.
WA Primary Principals Association president Niel Smith said principals were often caught in the middle, between following the guidelines and trying to ensure their students were safe.
“There are clear policies in place but then incidents happen in the community and school leaders want to protect their students from potential harm,” he said.
“In some instances they may be over policing, but they are thinking of what is best for the kids. Most would rather be overly cautious than have something happen on their school site.“
Smith said there was some discretion when looking at who needed a check, and that the policy did state if any contractor was in the school long term and may come into contact with children, then the school had the right to request a check.
“It is all about the nature of the work. Often tradesmen will be in a fenced off area, or isolated space, but contractors such as IT technicians may be working in areas that would also have students,” he said.
“There are some guidelines about what counts as long term and who counts as having direct contact, but there is some leniency there.“
He said it would be hard to make the rules more specific. “Stipulating what equals long term, or what equals potential contact with students could open up a whole other can of worms,” he said.
There have been several cases in WA where a school contractor has later been identified as a person of risk to students.
A man was arrested after it was alleged he took unauthorised photos of school children while employed as an IT contractor across various schools.
While he had a national police clearance and a valid Working with Children Check, the incident sparked discussion surrounding the need for better security measures for contractors.
Department Professional Standards and Conduct executive director Mary Brown said the Working With Children Act only required checks if the work was likely to involve contact with a child “in connection with a category of child-related work.”
“The Department of Education supports schools to ensure that staff and non-employees outlined in the Working With Children Act comply with its requirements,” she said.
She said it was important to ensure that all visitors to school, including contractors, were subject to appropriate supervision.
The Working with Children (Criminal Record Checking) Amendment Bill 2022 was passed on November 30 2022 with new provisions expected to commence operation on July 1.
The changes expanded the list of criminal convictions which would trigger a negative notice, recognises a pending charge, and gives the authorities the ability to issue an Interim Negative Notice if there is a reasonable likelihood of a Negative Notice being issued.
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