Changes to Working With Children Check System
Please be advised that the Victorian Government has made changes to the Working with Children Check (WWCC) system which will strengthen safeguards for children. All Victorian schools will align policies and practices with these updates and changes.
Details
From 19th October 2026, schools must notify the Social Services Regulator (SSR) of the details of all the workers or volunteers that they engage to do child-related work through a new online system called WWC Connect. This system will help the Social Services Regulator to see where people with WWC Clearances are working and volunteering. It will also let them act faster if someone’s WWC Clearance stops being valid.
The SSR will also require all WWCC cardholders to complete a mandatory online child safety training module when their WWCC is next due for renewal (once every five years). It takes about 30 minutes and is separate (and different) to the school’s child safety training for staff and volunteers.
What this means for our volunteers
At Essendon North Primary School, we require all volunteers to have a valid WWCC under our Volunteers Policy. We are very grateful to the many volunteer parents and carers who help us with many student activities such as reading in classrooms, on excursions and at community engagement and sporting events.
If you help at our school in a volunteer role with direct contact with children we will be required to enter your details into the new WWC Connect system. We will do this when you start and finish volunteering, and at any time your details change. Only the school can enter this information. You cannot do it yourself. Where this process is not consented to or followed, you will be unable to participate in child-related volunteering at our school.
What we need from our volunteers
If you currently volunteer (or intend to volunteer) at Essendon North Primary School in a role that works directly with children, please be aware that you will be required to update the following details upon your next sign in at the school office:
Name (on your WWC Clearance)
Address
Phone Number
Email Address
WWCC Number
WWCC Expiry date
Privacy notice: The department is collecting your personal information to meet requirements under the Worker Screening Act 2020. We will share this information with the Social Services Regulator, and with others where the law allows it. You can ask to see or correct your personal information by contacting the school office. To learn more, please read the privacy policy at vic.gov.au/schools-privacy-policy.
If you are a volunteer in a role that does not work directly with children or are exempt from holding a Working with Children Clearance, we may ask you to complete the Consent Form – Connecting your Working with Children Clearance to our school to collect your WWC Clearance details and obtain your consent to notify the Social Services Regulator through WWC Connect.
Thank you for your help with these changes to support our culture of child safety, and for all the support you give our school as a volunteer.
If you have any questions about the changes, visit Working with Children (WWC) Connect | vic.gov.au or contact us on 9379 3979.
Kate Barletta and the ENPS Executive and Office Team