New Working with Children Check rules: what volunteers and organisations need to know
Since 19 October, people applying for or renewing a Victorian Working with Children Clearance must do child safety training, and organisations must log the people they engage in WWC Connect.
Anyone applying for or renewing a Working with Children (WWC) Clearance in Victoria must now complete mandatory child safety training before their application can be finalised. Organisations that engage people in child-related work, from employers to sole traders, also have to tell the state's Social Services Regulator (SSR) who those people are.
The Victorian Government announced on Friday 23 October that the changes are now in effect, and describes the training requirement as an Australian first. The regulator's guidance pages say the training and the new WWC Connect system both started on Monday 19 October 2026.
What it means for applicants and cardholders
- Who must do the training: new applicants, people renewing a clearance, and volunteers changing to an employee clearance, according to the regulator.
- Already hold a card? You don't need to do the training straight away. The regulator says current holders only need to complete it when they renew a clearance that expires after 19 October 2026, or if they are a volunteer applying for an employee clearance. It also says the training will be made available online, outside the application process, in coming weeks.
- The course: online and self-paced, taking about 45 minutes. A paper-based version is also available. There is no extra cost, and volunteer checks remain free.
- What it covers: topics include respectful behaviour with children, recognising concerning behaviour and grooming risk factors, and how to respond if you are worried about a child's safety.
- Language help: the training is currently in English. The regulator says translations into several languages, including Chinese, Vietnamese and Punjabi, are expected from early 2027, and until then you can ask someone, such as a translator or interpreter, to help you.
What organisations must do
Organisations, including sole traders, must use WWC Connect, through Service Victoria, to notify the SSR about workers and volunteers in child-related work. The regulator sets out four steps:
- Check a person's clearance, or confirm an exemption applies, before they start child-related work.
- Connect them to your organisation in WWC Connect: within 7 days for workers and 21 days for volunteers.
- Record the checks and connections, and keep that evidence for at least seven years after the person stops working with you.
- Maintain your records when people start or stop, or their contact details change (again 7 days for workers, 21 for volunteers).
Organisations are strongly encouraged to connect people they already engaged before 19 October. Changes to those people's details, or their leaving child-related work, must still be entered in WWC Connect.
Once someone is connected, the organisation gets an email if that person's Victorian clearance is suspended, revoked, excluded or expires. The release notes that engaging a person with a suspended clearance in child-related work is an offence.
Why the change
According to the release, the changes are part of Victoria's response to recommendations from the Rapid Child Safety Review, and will give the regulator a clearer picture of the state's child-related workforce.
Social Services Regulator Jonathan Kaplan said: “These new requirements strengthen the information available to organisations and reinforce their responsibility to ensure the people they engage are eligible to work with children.”
Australian Childhood Foundation CEO Janise Mitchell said: “The mandatory child safety training is a direct response to feedback from survivors of child sexual abuse - it’s been shaped by their insights and built with their leadership.”
Find out more
- Changes to the Working with Children check
- Mandatory child safety training: who needs it and FAQs
- WWC Connect guide for organisations
Sources: Victorian Government media release, “Mandatory Child Safety Measures Now In Place”, 23 October 2026; Social Services Regulator guidance pages on vic.gov.au (checked 24 October 2026). Adapted from “Mandatory Child Safety Measures Now In Place”, Victorian Government media release, 23 October 2026. © Copyright State Government of Victoria, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence; this version has been edited and shortened. Further detail from Social Services Regulator guidance on vic.gov.au. Illustrations: The Dosage.