Working with Children (WWC) Connect

From 19 October 2026, if you engage a worker in child-related work, you will need to verify their eligibility to work with children, notify the Social Services Regulator (SSR) when they start or stop child-related work, and keep certain information up to date. (See the General section below for the definition of ‘worker’)

Before a worker starts child-related work, you will need to verify that they:

• hold a Working with Children (WWC) Clearance or exemption, or
• have applied for a WWC Clearance, where they are permitted to work while the application is being assessed, or
• are not excluded from child-related work in another jurisdiction.

You will also need to use WWC Connect to keep the SSR informed about:

• when the worker starts or stops child-related work
• changes to the worker’s contact details
• changes to the organisation’s contact details.

Labour hire agencies will have these and other requirements for workers they list for child-related work. Go to What if I am a labour hire agency? What are labour hire agencies responsible for?

From 19 October 2026, people applying for or renewing a WWC Check will also need to complete mandatory online child safety training as part of the application and renewal process.

The changes strengthen the WWC Check system by giving organisations, agencies and individuals greater responsibility for ensuring that the people they engage in child-related work hold a valid WWC Clearance. The changes also give the SSR more accurate and up-to-date information about where people with a WWC Clearance are working.

WWC Connect will record the connection between organisations and individuals, and the workers they engage in child-related work. This will help the SSR identify who needs to be informed if a person’s WWC Clearance status changes.

Mandatory online child safety training will help ensure people applying for or renewing a WWC Check understand their responsibilities for keeping children safe.

These changes implement recommendations from the Rapid Child Safety Review.

The requirements to verify workers’ eligibility to work with children and to update WWC Connect will affect you if you are an organisation or person who engages workers to do child-related work, or an agency that lists workers for child-related work.

Child-related work is work for specified services, bodies or places or involving specified activities that usually involves direct contact with a child or children. It does not include occasional direct contact that is incidental to their work. This applies regardless of whether the contact with children is supervised.

If you engage someone to do work that is not child-related work, you aren’t required to notify the SSR through WWC Connect.

From 19 October 2026, if you engage a worker in child-related work, you will need to:

• verify their WWC status before they start child-related work
• notify the SSR through WWC Connect when they start or stop doing child-related work (within seven days for workers or within 21 days for volunteers).
• keep certain information up to date in WWC Connect, including required contact details.

Agencies have these and other requirements for workers they list for child-related work.

Verifying and connecting a worker are two separate steps.

Before engaging a worker for child-related work, use the WWC status checker to verify that they are able do child-related work or take reasonable steps to confirm their WWC exemption.

Once you decide to engage the person, use WWC Connect to connect them to you or your organisation. Connecting them creates a record of the relationship and allows you to receive notifications if their WWC Clearance status changes.

Remember to verify first, then connect them when you’re ready to engage.

In Victoria, a person doing child-related work may be exempt from holding a WWC Clearance in the following circumstances:

• people under-18-years old
• some students aged 18 or 19 doing volunteer work organised by their educational institution
• parents volunteering in an activity in which their child participates or normally participates
• close relatives of the children they work with, provided they are closely related to each child and are not acting as a kinship carer.

teachers and early childhood teachers currently registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT). However, you must notify the SSR via WWC Connect if they undertake child-related work outside their teaching role in school or early childhood services.

There is no change to your responsibility.

It is an offence for you to allow a person whose WWC Clearance is suspended to engage in child-related work.

If you engage a person for child-related work, and they do not have a current WWC Clearance, you may face a penalty, including imprisonment.

As of 19 October 2026:

• The penalty is level 7 imprisonment (two years maximum) or a level 7 fine ($50,184 maximum or 240 penalty units) or both.
• The penalty in the case of a body corporate is $250,920 (or 1200 penalty units).

As a labour-hire agency, you are responsible for verifying that a worker can do child-related work before listing them for a placement.

You must not list a person for child-related work unless they have a WWC Clearance, have applied for one and the WWC status checker shows they may work while their application is being assessed, or they are exempt for other reasons. You are responsible for keeping evidence of this verification.

You must keep evidence that you verified the person’s WWC status before listing them as available for child-related work.

You are required to notify the Regulator via WWC Connect within seven days:

• of listing a person for child-related work
• of ceasing to list a person for child-related work
• of any change to your agency’s name, address or telephone number
• of any change to a listed person’s name, address or telephone number.

You must also keep records for each person you list for child-related work, including:

• their name and contact details
• the date you listed them for child-related work
• the date you stopped listing them for child-related work
• any changes to their name or contact details
• the name and contact details of each person or organisation where you placed the worker for child-related work
• the dates and total number of hours the worker undertook child-related work during each placement.

These records must be kept for at least seven years after you stop listing the person for child-related work.

Information you enter into WWC Connect can be downloaded to be retained as records. However, details related to placements cannot be added to WWC Connect, so you will have to keep separate records of that information.

Any person you want to engage to do child-related work must first be verified (See What if I am a labour hire agency? What are labour hire agencies responsible for?)

You must verify the person before whichever of these happens first:

• the day they first perform child-related work for you; or

the day you enter into an arrangement with them to do child-related work (an arrangement may be written or verbal or both).

Use the WWC status checker to verify that the person holds a current WWC Clearance. To do this, enter their family name and WWC application or card number in the WWC status checker.

If the person is exempt from holding a WWC Clearance, you will need to take reasonable steps to confirm the exemption applies. For example, you may need to sight appropriate evidence of their exemption (such as verifying a registered teacher using the VIT Register.)

Ensure you keep a record of verifying the person, as this is required by law.

Once you have verified that a worker can do child-related work and you decide to engage them, you must connect them to you through WWC Connect.

From 19 October 2026, any worker you engage on or after this date to do child-related work must be connected through WWC Connect. Labour hire agencies must also connect workers they list for child-related work (see What if I am a labour hire agency?).

Verifying and connecting are separate steps. First, use the WWC status checker to verify that the person can do child-related work. When you decide to engage this person, use WWC Connect to connect them to you.

On WWC Connect, you must include:

• the person’s name and contact details
• the date they started child-related work
• the date they stopped child-related work (if applicable)
• any changes to the person’s name or contact details
• any changes to your name or contact details.

If you are an agency, you must include:

• the person’s name and contact details
• the date you listed them to do child-related work
• the date you stopped listing them to do child related work (if applicable)
• any changes to the person’s name or contact details
• any changes to your agency name or contact details

Yes. If you engage a worker to do child-related work, you must connect them to you through WWC Connect.

You should first verify that the person can do child-related work using the WWC status checker. Once you decide to engage them you are legally required to connect them through WWC Connect.

You must use WWC Connect to connect:

• a worker within seven days of engaging them
• a volunteer within 21 days of engaging them.

First, use the WWC Status Checker to verify that the person can do child-related work.

Once you have decided to engage them, you are legally required to connect them to you through WWC Connect within the required timeframe.

You engage a person on:

• the date when the person starts the child-related work, or
• the date when you enter into an arrangement to engage a person for child-related work under a written or verbal agreement, if this date occurs earlier.

You do not need to connect someone to you through WWC Connect simply because they have applied for a job.

For workers, you must update their details in WWC Connect within seven days of the change.

For volunteers, you will need to update their details in WWC Connect within 21 days of the change.

This applies to changes to their name, address or telephone number.

No. A person must not do child-related work unless they have a current WWC Clearance or the WWC status checker shows that they are allowed to work while their application or renewal is being processed.

If their WWC Clearance expires, check their status using the WWC status checker.

If the status checker shows that they cannot do child-related work, they must stop that work immediately.

You must immediately stop engaging the person in child related work.

You must also update WWC Connect to show that you have stopped engaging them for child-related work.

It is an offence to engage a person in child-related work if they don’t have a WWC Clearance. Penalties may apply, including imprisonment.

As of 19 October 2026:

The penalty is level 7 imprisonment (two years maximum) or a level 7 fine ($50,184 maximum or 240 penalty units) or both.

The penalty in the case of a body corporate is $250,920 (or 1200 penalty units).