Frequently Asked Questions

A person is in child-related work if the usual duties of their role (whether paid or unpaid) involve, or are likely to involve, contact with a child in connection with one of the 18 categories of child-related work and no exemptions apply.

This means that people who are coaching children’s sporting teams, instructing children’s swimming lessons, working in the canteen or first aid tent at a club or association or otherwise providing activities to children at sport and recreational clubs may require a WWC Check.

Certain people such as volunteers under the age of 18 and parents whose children are also part of the club or association may be exempt from needing a WWC Check. 

Factsheet 18: information for the Sport and Recreation Sector provides more detail about who does and doesn’t need a WWC Check in your organisation and how you can ensure your compliance.

Parents who are volunteering at a club or association where their child/children are members are exempt from the WWC Check.   The exemption provided to parent volunteers means that they are not considered to be in child-related work and do not need to apply for a WWC Check.  However, if they volunteer to help out on a sport or recreational activity that involves an overnight stay they will no longer be exempt.

More information can be found in Factsheet 4: The Parent Volunteer Exemption 

Engaging an employee or volunteer in child-related work without a current WWC Check is an offence with penalties of up to $60, 000 and five years imprisonment. If you are intending to engage a person in child-related work, then they must apply for a WWC Check immediately. In most cases they can begin their child-related work upon receipt of their application.

For more information about your employer obligations please see Factsheet 18: Information for the Sport and Recreation Sector.

While you may not be employing the coach you still have a duty of care to ensure that they have a WWC Check if you are engaging them in child-related work.  You should ask to sight the Card and then validate it on our Check WWC Card Validity page which will confirm that it is valid (and not just current).  This should then be noted for your records.  For more information about your record keeping responsibilities please see our Record Keeping.

The WWC Act provides that specific people or certain kinds of work do not require a WWC Check even if the work involves contact with children in connection with one of the categories.  This is known as an exemption and means that the individual is ineligible to apply for a WWC Check.

Common exemptions that apply to the sport and recreation sector are volunteers under 18 years of age and parent volunteers.  More information can be found in Factsheet 2: Child-Related Work and Exemptions.

Visitors or members of the public who are there simply to watch the sporting event or recreational activity are not required to obtain a WWC Check.  However, if you have visitors who have a formal role that brings them into contact with children, such as State Sporting Associations officials who are presenting awards or judging competitions, then they may be required to have a WWC Check.  Even if your organisation is not their employer you still have a duty of care to ensure that they have a WWC Check if they are engaging in child-related work at your event or activity.

Please visit our Who Needs a Check? page for more information.

The WWC Check is only one of many strategies your organisation can employ to create a child safe and child friendly environment. The WWC legislation was designed to be used together with other workplace strategies including:

• thorough selection processes,
• supervision and training of employees and volunteers,
• codes of practice for staff and visitors, and
• listening to the concerns of children.

For more information, please see our child safety page.

If you have further questions that you would like answered our Customer Support Team would be more than happy to assist.  Please contact us on 1800 883 979 or checkquery@communities.wa.gov.au.

Our Community Engagement Team also offers free workshops aimed at those who administer WWC Checks (including in volunteer organisations), more information is available on our Events page.