Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012

An employer must not commence employing, or continue to employ, a worker in child-related work unless the employer has obtained and verified the worker’s relevant details and made a record of those relevant details.

The worker’s relevant details are the following—

the worker’s full name and date of birth,

the working with children number of the worker’s clearance or the application number of the worker’s current application,

the expiry date for each clearance of the worker, being the date on which the clearance ceases to have effect.

The worker’s relevant details are taken to have been verified only if the relevant details accord with the information relating to the worker recorded in the working with children register as at the date the record is made by the employer.

An employer who employs a worker in child-related work must ensure that the record kept under subsection (1) in relation to a worker is updated no later than 5 working days after the expiry date for each clearance of the worker.

An employer must retain a record made under this section—

during the period in which the worker carries out child-related work for the employer, and

for a period of at least 7 years after the worker ceases to carry out child-related work for the employer.

An employer who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with subsection (1), (4) or (5) is guilty of an offence.

This section extends to an employer who, in the course of business, arranges for the placement of a worker in employment with others (a placement agency) if—

the employment is child-related work, and

the placement agency is a person or a person of a class declared by the regulations to be subject to this section.

For the purposes of applying this section to a placement agency referred to in subsection (7), the placement agency is taken to employ the worker during any period in which the placement agency arranges for the employment of the worker in child-related work.

This section does not apply—

in respect of an employer if the employer is an individual who is the parent of, or has the care of, a child or young person and the child-related work relates to that child or young person, or

in respect of a worker who is exempted by the regulations from the requirement to hold a clearance, or

in respect of an employer who is exempted by the regulations from this section.