DOES A VOLUNTEER REQUIRE A CRIMINAL HISTORY REPORT OR DCSI SCREENING UNDER LEGISLATION?
Volunteering with Children
Applicable legislation:
Children’s Protection Act 1993 (SA),
Children’s Protection Regulations
2010 (SA)
Is this person a volunteer in a
prescribed position in an organisation
captured by the Act?
YES
Do any exemptions
apply?
NO
MUST conduct either a
criminal history report or
DCSI Child-related
employment screening.
Note: Some
organisations have
developed and
implemented policies
that require the DCSI
child-related
employment screening
to be conducted rather
than obtaining a criminal
history report – refer to
your organisational
policies.
YES
MAY conduct either a
criminal history report
or DCSI child-related
employment screening
depending on the
exemption and/or
organisations own risk
assessments policies.
NO
No legislative
requirement to conduct a
criminal history report or
DCSI child related
employment screening.
Note: Please check as
some organisational
policies may stipulate a
criminal history report or
DCSI child related
employment screening
for all volunteers.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: As an alternative to obtaining a DCSI childrelated employment screening through the DCSI Screening Unit, the
Regulations allow for a relevant history assessment to be conducted by an
employer organisation itself.
If the organisation conducts its own assessment, it is required to obtain, as a
minimum, a criminal history report and assess that report in accordance with
the Standards for dealing with information obtained about a person’s criminal
history as part of a relevant history assessment (the Standards), issued by
DECD and any information provided by the applicant relevant to the
assessment process.
On its own, the assessment of a person’s criminal history cannot be solely
relied on to protect children from people that may harm them. Assessments
should be implemented alongside a range of measures directed at keeping
children safe from harm. For further details about child safe environments
contact Families SA
http://www.families.sa.gov.au/pages/protectingchildren/CSEHome/
Volunteering with people with a
disability
Applicable legislation:
Disabilities Services Act 1993 (SA),
Disabilities Services (Assessment of
Relevant History) Regulations 2014
Is the person a volunteer in a prescribed
position in a “prescribed disability service
provider” as defined by the Act?
YES
MUST conduct a
DCSI disability
services
employment
screening
IMPORTANT
INFORMATION: The
Disability Services
(Assessment of Relevant
History) Regulations 2014
require people seeking to
work or volunteer with
people with disability to
undergo disability services
employment screening
through the government
screening unit.
Where the role of a person
working in the disability
sector also involves working
with children, only a childrelated employment
screening conducted by the
DCSI Screening Unit will be
required.
More information can be
found at:
http://www.dcsi.sa.gov.au/_
_data/assets/pdf_file/0020/1
7363/Disability-ServicesScreening-Standards2.pdf
NO
No legislative
requirement to conduct
DCSI disability services
employment screening
Note: Please check as
some organisational
policies may stipulate a
criminal history report for
all volunteers.
Volunteering with aged care sector
Applicable legislation:
Aged Care Act 1997 (Cth)
Aged Care Accountability Principles 1998
(Cth)
Is the person a volunteer visiting care
recipients under the Community Visitors
Scheme OR a volunteer organised by the
provider who are reasonably likely to have
unsupervised access to care recipients?
YES
MUST conduct a
criminal history report
Volunteers who are
under the age of 16
or full-time students
under the age of 18
are exempt.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Organisations cannot require
that their staff undergo DCSI
disability services employment
screening in accordance with
the Disability Services Act if
there is no legislative
requirement, i.e. they don’t
occupy a prescribed position.
Under Regulation 12 of the
Disability Services
(Assessment of Relevant
History) Regulations 2014, the
Screening Unit is committing an
offence if it undertakes an
assessment of which it is not
authorised.
NO
No legislative
requirement to
conduct a criminal
history report or
DCSI Aged Care
Sector Employment
Screening.
Note: Please check
as some
organisational
policies may
stipulate a criminal
history report or
DCSI Aged care
sector employment
screening for all
volunteers.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Aged Care programs and services
are often funded through Federal
and Government Grants.
It is important to understand the
requirements of the funding body
along with the organisation when
assessing the need for screening
with volunteer roles in Aged Care
Services.
More information can be found at:
https://www.dss.gov.au/ourresponsibilities/ageing-and-agedcare/police-certificate-guidelines-foraged-care-providers
Checks for volunteers with no
legislative or regulatory
requirements
If checks are not required
under legislative or regulatory
requirements, some
organisations may still ask
volunteers for a criminal
history report or a suitable
DCSI screening check in line
with their organisational
requirements.
Free criminal history reports,
in the form of a National
Police Certificate, are
available to volunteers of
community organisations who
work with vulnerable groups
such as children, older people
or people with disability. To
qualify, their organisation
must apply for a Volunteer
Organisation Authorisation
Number (VOAN) from the
South Australia Police. If an
organisation is not eligible for
a VOAN, the volunteer may
be entitled to a reduced fee.
For more information visit
the South Australia Police
website.
Alternatively, the DCSI
Screening Unit offers a
Vulnerable Person Related
Employment Screening, for
people working with
vulnerable members of the
community.
A range of screening services
are available at a reduced
rate for volunteers. For more
information visit the DCSI
Screening Unit website.
NOTE: Under legislation some volunteer roles may require more than one type of screening assessment. Information and links to relevant websites within
this document are current as of December 2015
GLOSSARY OF TERMS:
“Aged Care Sector Screening Check” for more information, please visit Screening Unit website at
http://www.dcsi.sa.gov.au/services/screening/what-kind-of-screening-do-I-need
“Accredited CrimTrac agency” means an organisation approved by CrimTrac and the Australian Police Forces to
access National Criminal History Record Check (NCHRC) services through CrimTrac in accordance with the
Accreditation procedures to Access NCHRC Services. They manage criminal history applications and reports in
accordance with the security and confidentiality requirements of their contract with CrimTrac.
“Child-Related Employment Screening” for more information, please visit Screening Unit website at
http://www.dcsi.sa.gov.au/services/screening/what-kind-of-screening-do-I-need
“Community Visitor Scheme” means an independent statutory scheme that visits and inspects:

acute mental health facilities

emergency departments of hospitals

disability accommodation

supported residential facilities (SRFs).
“DCSI” means Department for Communities and Social Inclusion
“Disability Services Employment Screening” for more information, please visit Screening Unit website at
http://www.dcsi.sa.gov.au/services/screening/what-kind-of-screening-do-I-need
“DECD” means Department for Education and Child Development
“Exemptions” means under the Children’s Protection Regulations 2010 exempt organisations, persons and
positions from the requirement to conduct a relevant history assessment in some circumstances. Organisations
should assess whether any of the exempting criteria apply to their organisation. The organisations, positions and
persons that are exempt from the requirement to undergo a criminal history assessment are:

an organisation that provides equipment, food or venues for children's parties or events and does not
provide any other services;

a person who undertakes work on a voluntary basis to provide a service in his or her capacity as a parent
or guardian of a child who is ordinarily provided with the service;

a person who undertakes work on a voluntary basis to provide a service and who is under 18 years of age;

a person who undertakes work in the course of, or for the purposes of, an event or activity that takes place
over a period of not more than 10 consecutive days or not more than 1 day in any month;

a person appointed as a police officer;

a person who is a registered teacher (within the meaning of the Teachers Registration and Standards Act
2004);

a person who undertakes, or a position that only involves, work that is not for the exclusive benefit of
children and is not provided to any child on an individual basis;

a position that only involves prescribed functions because children are employed or engaged to work as
volunteers by the person occupying the position or by that person's employer;

a position in which all work involving children is undertaken in the presence of the children's parents or
guardians and in which there is ordinarily no physical contact with the children.
These exemptions are not available where the volunteer’s role involves the provision of commercial child care;
family day care; juvenile justice; child protection services; disability services; or residential care and other overnight
accommodation.
“Criminal history report” means a summary of your offender history in Australia. It is usually requested by
organisations as part of their recruitment process for staff and volunteers. Criminal history reports are also called
Police Record Checks, Police checks, National Police Certificates (NPC), Police Certificates, or National Criminal
History Record Checks (NCHRC)
“Organisation captured by the Children’s Protection Act” means a government organisation, or a nongovernment or local government organisation that provides a health, welfare, education, sporting or recreation,
religious or spiritual, child care, entertainment, party, cultural or residential service wholly or partly for children.
“Prescribed disability service provider” means a government provider of disability services or a provider funded
under the Disability Services Act 1993 (SA).
“Prescribed position” in a prescribed disability service provider, means—
(a)
a position that requires or involves the performance of 1 or more of the following prescribed functions;




OR
regular contact with people with a disability or working in close proximity to people with a disability on a
regular basis, unless the contact or work is directly supervised at all times; or
supervision or management of people in positions requiring or involving regular contact with people with a
disability or working in close proximity to people with a disability on a regular basis; or
access to records of a kind prescribed by regulation relating to people with a disability; or
functions of a type prescribed by regulation;
(b)
a position, or position of a class, in a government department, agency or instrumentality designated (by
notice in the Gazette) by the responsible authority for the government department, agency or instrumentality as a
prescribed position for the purposes of this section;
“Prescribed position” is defined under the Children's Protection Act 1993 (SA) as a position in which a person is
engaged in one or more of the following prescribed functions:

regular contact with children or working in close proximity to children on a regular basis, unless the contact
or work is directly supervised at all times; or

supervision or management of persons in positions requiring or involving regular contact with children or
working in close proximity to children on a regular basis; or

access to records of a kind prescribed by regulation relating to children; or

functions of a type prescribed by regulation (see Regulation 10).
“Relevant History Assessment” means an assessment of certain information relating to a person in order to
determine whether a person presents a risk to the people receiving a service (such as children or people with
disabilities). A relevant history assessment may be conducted through the Department for Communities and
Social Inclusion Screening Unit or by the employer organisation itself.
“Screening Unit” means authorised unit pursuant to the Children's Protection Regulations 2010 and as such is
authorised to conduct child-related employment screening on behalf of organisations, as provided for by
Regulation 6(1)(b). The Unit is authorised to conduct vulnerable person-related employment screening, aged care
sector employment screening and general employment probity checks pursuant to Regulation 12(2). The Unit is
also authorised under the Disability Services (Assessment of Relevant History Regulations 2014) to conduct
Disability Services Employment Screening for people working or volunteering in a 'prescribed function' under
the Disability Services Act 1993 (SA).
“Volunteer Organisation Authorisation Number (VOAN)” means a number supplied by the South Australian
Police. The VOAN allows eligible non-profit/volunteer sector organisations to receive police checks free of cost for
eligible volunteers.
“Vulnerable Person-Related Employment Screening” for more information, please visit Screening Unit website
at http://www.dcsi.sa.gov.au/services/screening/what-kind-of-screening-do-I-need
RELEVANT LINKS:
Department for Communities and Social Inclusion Screening Unit fact sheets
Aged Care Quality and Compliance Group, Police Certificates Guidelines
Department for Education and Child Development website
Investigation on the transferability of criminal history record checks
Screening and police checks for volunteers fact sheet