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In the Working With Children Check, background checks are mandatory for:

• preferred applicants for paid child-related employment;
• anyone seeking to provide foster care ("authorised care") to children;
• employment as a minister, priest, rabbi, mufti or other like religious leader or spirtual official of a religion.

Only mandatory background checks are carried out through the Working With Children Check.

To find out more, go to the Employer Guidelines Introduction page.
To download the forms, go to the Employer Guidelines Forms page.

Background checks are conducted by the NSW Commission for Children and Young People and other Approved Screening Agencies. Three specific checks are made for:

• relevant criminal records;
• relevant Apprehended Violence Orders; and
• relevant employment proceedings.

If we find any relevant records during the background check, we will assess the risk of employing the person in that particular position. We then provide an assesment report to the employer.

The decision whether to employ a person always remains the employers.

Employers can find the forms for registering with an Approved Screening Agency and getting a background check on a prefered applicant are available on the Forms page.

Background checks are just one way employers can make their workplace safer for kids. To see what else you can do to help make your workplace a safe and friendly place for kids go to the Child-safe Child-friendly page.