Merely sighting a WWCC card or number is not sufficient for verification. It is important to verify that the WWCC includes your club and Life Saving Victoria on its list of associated organisations. This makes sure all records are kept up to date and allows the Department of Justice (DoJ) to contact your club should any details change or a Check is refused or cancelled.
- If a member already holds a WWCC with another organisation, they must add your club and Life Saving Victoria to their list of organisations on their card. The DoJ will then send your club a letter of confirmation by mail containing the member’s WWCC number and expiry date. You can proceed to enter these details into Surfguard and process the pending membership.
To add organisations to an existing WWCC the member should update their details on the Working With Children website to include your club and Life Saving Victoria.
- If a member does not hold a WWCC, they are required to apply for one. Once they obtain it, the DoJ will send your club a letter of confirmation by mail, including the member’s WWCC number and expiry date. You can then enter these details into Surfguard and process the pending membership.
You may like to provide members with this Working With Children Check Guide for Club Members.
Teachers and Police Officers are not exempt from WWCC
Teachers and early childhood teachers registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) MUST notify Working With Children Check Victoria (WWCCV) of any child-related work they do outside of their teaching in a school or early childhood service, regardless of whether it is paid or voluntary work. If a teacher’s VIT registration is suspended or cancelled, WWCCV will notify the relevant organisations that the teacher exemption no longer applies.
Teachers registered with the VIT must:
- inform Working With Children Check Victoria (WWCCV) of any other child-related work.
- nominate both the club (including club officer, email address and phone number) and Life Saving Victoria (LSV Human Resources, hr@lsv.com.au, 03 9676 6944)
- notify WWCCV within 21 days of starting any new child-related work.
The club will be informed.
A guide for teachers linking their VIT with WWCC – Working With Children Check Guide for Club Members.
The Working With Children Act 2005 allows exemptions for Police Officers; however, Life Saving Victoria requires these members to hold a WWCC despite their exemption under the Act. Why? Without undergoing a WWCC referenced to Life Saving Victoria and your club, there is no connection between the profession as a Department of Justice employee and any volunteer organization in which the individual participates. If any member, in their substantive capacity as a teacher or Police Officer, were to be charged with a breach of any laws relevant to this check (e.g., sexual misconduct), Life Saving Victoria and your club would not otherwise be informed of such charges. This ensures that Life Saving Victoria maintains a higher level of risk minimization for our junior members.