Legislative Requirements and Child Care Standards

(January 2005)

The Child Care Act 2001 requires that people who have contact with children in care are fit and proper persons. This includes the following people:

• child care licensees;
• persons involved in the management of child care services; and
• any other staff members who have contact with children.

This measure assists in safeguarding children against risks to their safety and well-being. The fit and proper persons assessment includes requirements for disclosures as outlined in the Act and the safety screening process as outlined in the Child Care Standards. The following information concerns the safety screening process only.

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Safety Screening

(May 2006)

It is a requirement of the Department of Education, Tasmania that a safety screening assessment is undertaken by the following persons before having contact with children:

• child care staff;
• home-based child carers (including carers registered through a family day care scheme);
• volunteers and students, who are seeking employment or placement at licensed/registered child care services;
• regular visitors to licensed/registered child care services;
• licence applicants; and
• members of the management body.

The persons listed above are required to complete a Safety Screening Application Form [Word 472KB] and be assessed as being suitable to have contact with children by the Department’s Conduct and Investigations Unit.

The Safety Screening Application Form grants permission for the Department to obtain information from:

• Tasmania Police (these checks are conducted on a national basis);
• The Department of Health and Human Services (following internal departmental Child Protection and Children’s Services checks); and
• Current and previous employers.

Further information may be sought from the applicant if deemed necessary.

The front page of the Safety Screening Application Form (Consent to Check and Release Tasmanian and National Police Records) is forwarded to Tasmania Police and then returned to the Department. It is certified by the Tasmania Police and indicates either no record of conviction or has attached a list of convictions in chronological order (i.e. a Record of Conviction).

An assessment is made of the record of conviction and any other information obtained through the checking process. The types of convictions that are of concern to the Department include:

• Crimes of Violence;
• Sex-Related Offences;
• Serious Drug Offences;
• Crimes Involving Dishonesty; and
• Serious Traffic Offences.

In determining whether a person's Record of Conviction is relevant to their employment or voluntary activities within the child care sector, regard is had to:

• nature and frequency of offence(s);
• relevance of offence(s) to position;
• age at which the offence(s) was committed;
• how recent was the offence(s);
• degree of rehabilitation;
• general character since the offence(s) as related to employment (e.g. employment record);
• whether the offence is still a crime; and
• the nature of the role of the applicant with that child care service.

The application is to be signed by a Commissioner for Declarations (see the section below for further details on how to identify a Commissioner for Declarations).

Other than Tasmania Police, only the Conduct and Investigations Unit has access to the Safety Screening Application Form and any other relevant information obtained during the safety screening process.

If the applicant has any concerns regarding the safety screening process or the results of the record of conviction check, the applicant may meet with the Manager (Conduct and Investigations Unit) to raise their concerns. The applicant may bring a support person to the meeting.

The Safety Screening Application Form will be filed and may be used to collect further information at a later date. Any information received as part of the process will be stored in a secure location until destroyed in accordance with the Archives Act 1983 and associated disposal schedules.

It is the responsibility of an applicant to notify the Conduct and Investigations Unit if a safety screening clearance is no longer required and the applicant wishes to be removed from the database.

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Information about Commissioners for Declarations

(January 2005)

1. A Commissioner for Declarations is authorised by the Oaths Act 2001 to witness signatures and to take statutory declarations from individuals.
2. If a person is over 21 and under 70 years, and a member of certain professions or employment groups, that person is automatically an ex officio Commissioner for Declarations. Some examples are:

   Profession / Employment Group	Qualifying Period
   Australian Postal Corporation	(5 years experience)
   Bank Officer	(5 years experience)
   Building Society Officer	(5 years experience)
   Civil Marriage Celebrant	No Qualifying Period
   Credit Union Officer	(5 years experience)
   Dentist	(5 years experience)
   Legal Practitioner	(5 years experience)
   Medical Practitioner	(5 years experience)
   Member of Parliament (Australian, State or Local Government)	No Qualifying Period
   Minister of Religion	No Qualifying Period
   Nurse	(5 years experience)
   Permanent Employee of Australian Government	(5 years experience)
   Permanent Employee of Local Government	(5 years experience)
   Permanent Employee of State Government	(5 years experience)
   Pharmacist	(5 years experience)
   Physiotherapist	(5 years experience)
   Police Officer	(5 years experience)
   Teacher	No Qualifying Period

3. An ex officio Commissioner for Declarations is authorised to witness signatures and to take statutory declarations from individuals.
4. When signing as an ex officio Commissioner that person must add after his/her signature the words “ex officio Commissioner for Declarations”, followed by his/her profession or employment title.
5. Errors and additions should be initialled by both the applicant and the Commissioner for Declarations.

Further information regarding Commissioners for Declarations is available on the Department of Justice website.

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Contact Details

For further information or assistance in relation to the above matters, please contact the Manager (Conduct and Investigations) on (03) 6233 7538.