(December 2005)

Employees in certain positions in the Department of Education, Tasmania are subject to a good character check involving an identity check and checks on any relevant disciplinary action in previous employment.

For example, to fulfil its duty of care responsibilities and to ensure a safe environment for students, the Department of Education, Tasmania requires all school-based employees to undergo a check. This may involve a record of conviction check, an identity check and checks on any relevant disciplinary action in previous employment.

Only the State Service Commissioner can approve a good character check as an essential requirement for a position. Positions that have been approved by the Commissioner include the following in the Essential Requirements section of the statement of duties.

"The Commissioner has determined that the person nominated for this position is to satisfy a good character check before taking up the appointment, promotion or transfer."

Where the Commissioner has approved the requirement for a check a Good Character Check Form [Word 329KB] must be completed by the relevant employee or applicant for the position.

This form is forwarded to Tasmania Police and returned to the Department. It is certified and indicates either no record of conviction or has attached a list of convictions in chronological order (eg a Record of Conviction).

Please refer to the delegations for the authority to conduct good character checks following approval from the State Service Commissioner.

Only the Conduct and Investigations Unit has access to the Good Character Check Form or the Record of Conviction. The Record of Conviction is not kept on an employee’s personal file.

An assessment is made of the record of conviction and any other information obtained through the checking process. The generic conviction areas include:

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

In determining whether a person's Record of Conviction is relevant to their employment with the Department, 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 (eg employment record); and
• whether the offence is still a crime.

If there are any relevant convictions, the person will be invited to discuss the results of the check and the process with the Manager (Conduct and Investigations). The person can bring a support person such as union representative to the meeting.

A person must not be employed until the Good Character Check process is completed and confirmation has been obtained of the applicant’s clearance status.

If a person is unwilling to complete a Good Character Check Form, then the process of his or her application for the position ceases.

Volunteers

(August 2007)

A Good Character Check clearance is mandatory for some volunteers prior to the commencement of duty.

A potential volunteer should contact their relevant school or business unit to establish whether this requirement will apply.

See Volunteer Guidelines and Good Character Checks for School-Based Volunteers for further information.

Contact Details

For further information or assistance in relation to the above matters, please contact the Manager (Conduct and Investigations), on (03) 6233 7538 or via e-mail: Conduct.and.Investigations@education.tas.gov.au