Key terms
Applicant – You, if you are the person applying for a NDIS Worker Screening Check, or applying to have a decision reviewed.
Category A, B and C –Categories established under the Worker Screening Act 2020 that categorise criminal charges, convictions or findings that affect an NDIS Clearance
Decision notice – The written notice the Social Services Regulator (SSR) sends you setting out a decision about your WWC Check application or WWC Clearance and the reasons for it. The notice will include reasons for the decision and tell you what you can do next, including how and by when you can ask for a review.
Internal review – The process where you ask the SSR to review its decision to issue you with an Exclusion. An independent senior reviewer, who had no part in the original decision, considers your matter afresh and decides whether to confirm, set aside or change it.
The Internal Review Branch – The Branch within the Social Services Regulator (SSR) that independently determines applications for internal review separately from the area that made the original decision.
Interim NDIS Exclusion – A temporary Exclusion the SSR can put in place while it is still assessing or reassessing your application for a NDIS Clearance. While an Interim Exclusion is in force you cannot undertake any disability-related work until the matter is finalised.
NDIS Clearance – The outcome where the SSR decides you can work or volunteer in a risk-assessed role. A Clearance is valid across Australia for a set period and is monitored on an ongoing basis, so it can be reassessed if new information arises.
NDIS Exclusion – The outcome where the SSR decides you cannot work or volunteer in a risk-assessed role. You receive written notice of an exclusion. An exclusion can result from a new application, or from the SSR reassessing and revoking a Clearance you already hold. If you are given an NDIS Exclusion you generally cannot apply for an NDIS Check again for five years unless your circumstances change.
NDIS Worker Screening Check (NDIS Check) – The screening process you go through to check whether you can work or volunteer in a risk-assessed role with people with disability under the NDIS. Applying for a check is the first step. The outcome is either a Clearance or an Exclusion.
Procedural fairness – Your right to a fair process before a decision that affects you is made. In practice this means being told the substance of any information being considered against you, and being given a genuine chance to respond, before the decision is finalised.
Re-assessment – Where the SSR looks again at a Clearance you already hold, usually because new information has come to light, for example, a new charge. A reassessment can confirm your Clearance or lead to it being revoked.
The Social Services Regulator (SSR) – The independent body responsible for worker screening in Victoria, including decisions about Working with Children Clearances. ‘The Social Services Regulator’ can mean the body itself or a staff member acting on its behalf.
Reviewer (independent reviewer) – The senior officer who decides your internal review. They are independent of, and more senior than, the person who made the original decision, and they were not involved in making the original decision.
Supreme Court review (judicial review) – If you believe the SSR has made a legal error in reaching its decision, you may be able to ask the Supreme Court of Victoria to review it. The court examines whether the decision was made lawfully and fairly; it does not re-make the decision or substitute its own view on the merits.
VCAT (Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal)– A tribunal that can review your internal review decision.
How to apply for an internal review
You can apply for an internal review following a NDIS Exclusion or revocation being issued to you.
Applications for internal review must be in writing in the approved form (below).
In the application form you will be asked to:
- Identify the decision you want reviewed and attach a copy of the decision notice and statement of reasons provided to you
- State the date you received the decision and the statement of reasons
- Set out your grounds for review and response to the specific concerns raised by the SSR in the original decision in detail
- Attach any additional information and evidence to be considered
Applying for an internal review does not pause the exclusion you have been issued. Your Exclusion will continue to apply until the internal review has been finally decided.
Application form
To make an application, please complete the form below:
Once you have completed your application form and attached all supporting evidence and information it can be lodged via:
Email:
internalreview@ssr.vic.gov.au
Post:
Internal Review Branch
Social Services Regulator
GPO Box 1774
Melbourne VIC 3001
Time limit for applying for internal review
In your NDIS Exclusion decision letter, which includes your statement of reasons, you will be informed that you have 28 days from the date of the SSR’s decision to make an application for internal review.
Late applications
If you do not apply within 28 days, you may still request an internal review, but you must include a request for an extension of time and explain the reasons for the delay.
The SSR will consider each request for an extension on a case-by-case basis. When we decide whether to accept a late application, we may consider:
- the length of, and reasons for the delay
- whether there is an acceptable explanation for the delay
- whether it is fair and reasonable in the circumstances to extend time.
Can you can apply for an internal review?
When you apply for a NDIS Clearance, or when the SSR reassesses an existing NDIS Clearance, the SSR decides whether you are cleared to undertake, or continue to undertake, risk-assessed work or volunteering with people with disability under the NDIS. Most people are cleared. In some cases, the SSR may decide to issue you an NDIS Exclusion. This can be issued in relation to current applications for a NDIS Clearance or if the SSR has reassessed your NDIS Clearance because of its routine review processes. If this happens to you, you may be able to seek a review of the Regulator’s decision.
If you have a notice of NDIS Exclusion issued to you, you will be informed about the category your application has been placed in: either Category A, B or C. This will be determined by taking into account your criminal and/or disciplinary history, or whether there are allegations that have been made about you that relate to the safety of people with a disability. Your category matters because it will determine the nature and type of review you can seek about the SSR’s decision to issue you with a NDIS Exclusion. Not all applicants will fall within one of these categories, particularly if you have no criminal, disciplinary or other child safety information that applies to you. Find more information about how these categories work.
If you are permitted to seek an internal review of a NDIS Exclusion issued to you by the SSR, this means the Internal Review Branch will review your application afresh, including looking at information about you that the SSR has, as well as any new information. The Internal Review Branch will undertake a fresh consideration of the facts and relevant tests that apply to an assessment for a NDIS Check.
Some decisions are not subject to internal review, for example where you receive an Interim NDIS Exclusion. This is because the SSR has not reached a final decision. Internal review for Category A matters are extremely limited. These circumstances are explained in more detail below.
What WWC decisions are subject to internal review?
Internal review of applications falling within Category A, B or C
Category A
Where you are issued with a NDIS Exclusion and you fall within Category A, it is important that you are aware that your right to internal review is very limited. You can only apply for an internal review of a Category A Exclusion on the ground that you are not, in fact, the individual referred to in the original application. For example, a case of mistaken identity where you might share the same name as the actual applicant.
If the SSR conducts an internal review for your Category A Exclusion, it will only consider the question of whether or not you are the person referred to in the Exclusion.
Category B and C
If the SSR issues you a NDIS Exclusion and you fall within Category B or Category C, you can apply for an internal review of that decision. For these decisions, the SSR can conduct an internal review to look at your case afresh to decide whether you should be issued with a NDIS exclusion or whether you should be given a NDIS Clearance.
Category B Exclusions relate to more serious matters, and you will not be given a NDIS Clearance unless the SSR is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances (these are set out below under ‘How will the evidence and information be considered’).
The test in Category C differs in that the SSR must be satisfied that you do not pose an unacceptable risk of harm to persons with disability in relation to the factors listed below. Category C Exclusions relate to matters that are serious, however, may in some circumstances fall below the standard of a criminal conviction, and often include matters where information has been provided to the SSR from third parties such as relevant disciplinary or regulatory findings.
Decisions not available for internal review
Not every decision relating to your NDIS Clearance can be internally reviewed. The types of decisions that are not available for internal review are as follows:
- interim NDIS Exclusions
- the merits of a Category A decision (except on the grounds of mistaken identity)
- any other NDIS decision not relating to an Exclusion or revocation, for example, Suspension steps taken during a reassessment.
Applying for internal review
Who can apply
Only the person who was the subject of the NDIS Exclusion decision can apply for an internal review.
A person who is not the subject of the decision, such as an employer or family member, is not able to apply for an internal review.
Who conducts an internal review or further application
When you apply for an internal review, the application will be allocated to the Internal Review Branch which is a separate, part of the Regulator to the one that made the original NDIS exclusion decision.
The Internal Review Branch will determine whether you are eligible for an internal review and consider your application afresh on the facts, evidence, law and any new information identified through the process to decide for themselves whether you should be issued with a notice of NDIS exclusion or if you should be given a NDIS clearance.
Evidence and information you should provide in support of your application
When you apply for an internal review it is important that you provide evidence and information to support your application for a NDIS Clearance. This may include all the information you submitted in relation to your original decision, but more importantly should also put forward any new or updated information that you consider relevant to why you should hold a NDIS Clearance. The evidence you provide should be current, specific and verifiable.
The types of evidence that often accompany an application include:
- engagement with medical and therapeutic practioners or other relevant services
- evidence of your risk to a person with a disability, for example, expert forensic psychological risk assessment
- evidence of your rehabilitation and post-offence conduct, for example through the attendance, engagement and completion of programmes
- personal statements that demonstrate insight and remorse including an understanding of the factors that led to the offending or conduct, the impact on the victim and any other relevant considerations
- objective character and referee evidence, which should address whether the reference is aware of your history and considers whether you are a risk to a person with a disability.
Asking for more information from you and other sources
To make a decision about your application for internal review, the Internal Review Branch can ask for further information, including from any person or source including:
- the Director of Public Prosecutions
- any Victorian Public Service employee
- any disciplinary or regulatory entity
- any authorised entity.
The SSR may also ask you further questions and may in some circumstances request further information from a third party.
How will the evidence and information be considered?
The Internal Review Branch will consider all the information it has, any information provided by you or information received from other persons in relation to each of the criteria set out in the legislation (where relevant).
If the internal review relates to a decision about a Category B or Category C matter, the law sets out the things the Internal Review Branch must consider. They will look at:
- the nature, gravity and circumstances of the offence or alleged offence
- the period of time that has passed since the offence or alleged offence
- the vulnerability of the victim at the time the offence or alleged offence was committed
- your relationship to the victim at the time the offence was committed
- whether you had a position of authority in relation to the victim at the time the offence or alleged offence was committed
- your criminal, misconduct and disciplinary history, including whether there is a pattern of concerning behaviour
- your behaviour since the committed or allegedly committed offence
- all other relevant factors relating to the committed, or allegedly committed, offence.
The Internal Review Branch will weigh all the factors above, and your NDIS Clearance will only be granted if the SSR is satisfied that you do not pose an unacceptable risk of harm to persons with disability for Category C matters, or that there are no exceptional circumstances in Category B matters.
If your matter is a Category A, the only question considered by the Internal Review Branch is whether you are in fact the person the exclusion was based on (so these criteria are not relevant).
The paramount consideration
The paramount consideration in all internal reviews regarding NDIS Checks is the health, safety and wellbeing of persons with disability and in particular, the protection of persons with disability from abuse, violence, neglect and exploitation.
How we handle your information
The SSR handles your information in line with its obligations under Victorian law, including the Social Services Regulation Act 2021, the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014, the Health Records Act 2001, and the Public Records Act 1973. You can read more about how the Regulator collects, uses, stores, and shares information on its privacy page.
Giving false or misleading information to the SSR is a serious criminal offence with significant consequences that can carry a fine or even imprisonment in addition to your continued WWC Exclusion.
Sharing your information
Where the law allows, the SSR may share information about you, for example with the NDIS Commission.
Accessing and correcting your information
You can ask the SSR for access to documents that contain your personal information, and you can ask for that information to be corrected if wrong. Access requests are usually made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Find out how to make a request.
If you have a concern about your privacy
If you believe the SSR has mishandled your information or disclosed it unreasonably, you can raise it with the SSR directly. If you are not satisfied with its response, you can complain to the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner about personal or sensitive information, or to the Health Complaints Commissioner about health information.
What is the SSR’s internal review process?
Once the SSR receives your application
Once the SSR receives your application your internal review will be assigned to a member of the Internal Review Branch.
After the SSR receives your internal review application, you will receive correspondence acknowledging receipt and requesting any additional information that the SSR needs at that stage.
Time frame for completing an internal review
The SSR must ensure that an internal review is completed within 28 days of your application being received, unless it extends that period.
Where the Internal Review Branch is unable to conduct your internal review within the 28-day window, we will write to you explaining why we have extended the deadline and setting out the reasons for the extension. This may be because there are a large number of existing applications, or your application is complex and requires careful consideration.
After an internal review is completed
Notification of outcome
Once the SSR has finished your internal review, it will write to you with the outcome as soon as possible. The outcome will either be to give you a NDIS Exclusion or Clearance, or to reinstate your NDIS Clearance.
Providing reasons
When the SSR gives you a NDIS Exclusion, you have the right to understand why, and you will be given written reasons explaining how the Internal Review Branch reached that decision. Those reasons are there to help you understand the outcome and work out what you can do next.
In a small number of circumstances, the law allows the SSR to limit the reasons it provides, for example, where a decision relies on information that, if disclosed, could compromise a police investigation, identify a confidential source, or put someone's safety at risk.
Further review rights to VCAT
If you have received a NDIS Exclusion because of your internal review, you may have the right to apply to VCAT to seek a review of this decision.
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