Working with Children Check

5 Steps to WWCC Compliance for Clubs

All Clubs, Associations, Branches, Futsal Clubs, Futsal Centres and Referee Branches must:

1. Appoint an MPIO – a Member Protection Information Officer must be appointed to manage WWCC and Child Safeguarding requirements. more info
2. Register as an Employer – the entity must be registered for the WWCC, have a WWCC Employer Username & Password, and verify the WWC Numbers of their workers and volunteers in the online verification system. more info
3. Obtain WWC Numbers – the entity must obtain the WWC Number, Name & DOB from all workers & volunteers working with children U18, unless exempt. – see below
4. Verify WWC Numbers – the entity must log into the WWCC Employer Portal using the entity Username & Password to verify the WWC Numbers of every worker and volunteer working with children. – see below
5. Record Verification Results – the entity must record each person’s details and verification result in the WWC Verification Records and maintain those records at all times. – see below

Note:  Failure to comply can result in the entity being fined by the NSW OCG and reported to NSW Police for non-compliance.

Who is required to have a WWC Number in football:

All persons aged 18 years and over working or volunteering with children in football, including

• Committee members, board members, directors, MPIOs, registrars, administrators.
• Coaches, managers, technical directors, youth coordinators, age coordinators,
• Trainers, assessors, physiotherapists and chaperones.
• Referees, referee coaches, referee mentors, referee assessors.
• Tour chaperones, tour directors, tour officials, team officials involved in tours, and any adult in a position of responsibility involved in tours, trips away and overnight stays involving participants U18.
• Any other position in Football NSW or an affiliated entity where a person aged 18 years or over is responsible for, or directly involved in, the supervision, management, education, instruction, interaction, transportation, safety, wellbeing, treatment or care of children aged under 18, or will have access to the registration records or private and personal details of children under 18.

Exemptions:  All persons aged under 18 years are exempt.  There are no other exemptions.

How to Register your organisation for the WWCC

• Click here to Register as a Child Related Employer and enter the details required.
• Section 3 Child Related Sector – select ‘clubs and other bodies providing services to children’.
• Section 4 enter the details of the person who will be verifying the WWC Numbers of your entity’s workers and volunteers, and list a secondary contact (i.e. Secretary)
• Section 5 enter the email of the person who will be verifying the WWC Numbers and a Secondary Contact (i.e. Secretary) and create a Password for your entity. The password should be kept on record by the MPIO and the Secretary of the entity.
• Once complete, your entity’s registration will be confirmed and you will receive a WWCC Employer ID Number.  Keep a record of the WWCC Employer ID Number with the Password.
• You can now start verifying the WWC Numbers of your workers & volunteers in the online system, but before you do, ensure that you have created your Verification record spreadsheet (see below) and then proceed to How to Verify WWC Number.

How to Verify WWC Numbers

• Go to https://wwccemployer.ocg.nsw.gov.au/Login
• Login using your entity’s Username (email) and Password (created when the organisation was registered as an Employer for the WWCC – see above)
• Enter the worker’s Surname, Date of Birth and WWC Number and select ADD and then select “VERIFY”.
• The verification results will then be displayed.
• The verification result must read as ‘CLEARED’ before a person can work or volunteer with children.
  • TIP:  You can verify multiple WWC Numbers by selecting ADD and then adding the next person’s details & WWC Number to be verified.
• Once a ‘CLEARED’ result is shown, enter the verification result and expiry date (shown on the result screen) into your WWC Verification Records and remember to add the date verified.
• If a verification result is “NOT FOUND” then one of the details provided is incorrect or the person has not completed the WWCC process by attending a Service NSW centre, or the person’s WWC Number may not have been renewed with Service NSW by the due date for renewal and may have expired.
• If a verification result is “BARRED” or “INTERIM BARRED” the person is not permitted to work or volunteer in a role which requires a WWCC.

WWCC Verification Records

To meet its record keeping obligations under the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012, clubs must record and maintain a record of the WWC Number and details of their workers and volunteers who work or volunteer with children aged under 18 years.

For compliance and auditing purposes:

• The club must create a WWCC Verification Records spreadsheet – Verifications Record template
• Verification Records must be in place and kept updated by the club at all times.
•  Each time a new worker or volunteer joins the club, and before they start working with children you must verify the person’s WWC Number and record the following in the club’s verification records spreadsheet:
  • Full name (first, middle and last name)
  • Date of Birth
  • WWC Number
  • Verification Date (i.e. the date you verified their WWC Number)
  • Verification Outcome (cleared, barred, interim barred or not found)
  • WWC Expiry Date (when the WWC Number expires)
  • Status of the worker (paid or volunteer)
• Clubs can record additional information in the spreadsheet if required.  (i.e. the worker’s role or position at the club, team or age group they are coaching or managing, who from the club verified the WWC Number, Start date, End date (i.e. date the person left the club) etc. which can be beneficial) for the club’s records.

Applying for a WWCC

If you are aged 18 years or over, and intend working or volunteering in football with children U18 years, you MUST hold a WWC Number.  Persons aged Under 18 years are exempt from the WWCC.

Click here for all of the information you need to apply for a WWCC in NSW

COMPLIANCE & ENFORCEMENT PENALTIES

Organisations

When an organisation knowingly employs someone in paid or voluntary child-related work without the required WWCC clearance or current application in progress, the penalty is $11,000, and the penalty for not verifying a WWC Number is $11,000.

The Office of the Children’s Guardian (OCG) is cracking down on non-compliance with the Working with Children Check (WWCC), with the launch of ‘Operation Sentinel’ already issuing 18 fines totalling $21,500 to organisations for non-compliance with the WWCC.

• Fines issued for non-compliance with the WWCC (news article)

Individuals

In NSW, it is a criminal offence to engage in child-related paid or voluntary work when you are required to hold a Working With Children Check (WWCC) but do not have the required WWC Number. Working without a WWCC can carry incur a fine of $11,000 or 2 years imprisonment, or both.