In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures
our gunanoos, which means children
in Aboriginal language are everything.
We all play a role in keeping our mob safe.
On behalf of all staff at Blue Card Services,
I'd like to begin by respectfully acknowledging the traditional
owners of the land on which we are recording
this podcast today, the Jagera and Turrbal people
and pay my respect to elders past, present and emerging.
We extend a special welcome to all Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples listening to this podcast.
Hello everyone.
I'm Jess, a proud Bidjara woman and I work
in the Community Information Team at Blue Card Services.
Today I'd like to introduce our
deadly guest, Meegan from the Community
Information Team to yarn about obligations for organisations.
Thanks for joining me today, Megan. Hi, Jess.
Thanks for inviting me.
In the last episode, I spoke to our Community
Engagement Officers and heard how they travel all over
Queensland to help people with their applications and help
organisations to understand the Blue Card System.
This week, we are yarning about
blue card obligations for organisations.
Yes, Jess, Community Engagement Officers do
great work in the community.
And you're right, organisations have various blue
card obligations which help keep kids safe.
And I'm going to talk about a few of them now. Great.
Let's talk about the 5 main obligations.
Number 1, No Card, No Start.
This means an employer cannot start a person
in child related work without a valid blue card.
Number 2, confirming the card holder's identity.
An organisation must take steps to
confirm a card holder's identity.
Number 3, linking requirements.
Organisations must link a card holder
prior to starting them in work.
We also recommend that organisations delink the
cardholder when they leave their organisation.
Number 4, blue card register.
Organisations must maintain a register of all
people engaged in child related work, whether
they are paid volunteers or students.
This is not to be confused to the Organisation Portal
register as the Organisation Portal will not include
those who are exempt, such as volunteer parents.
And 5, risk management organisations must develop and
implement a child and youth risk management strategy.
That is a lot of information for
an organisation to get their head around.
Yeah, it's a lot of information, Jess.
So let's go through it together.
So No Card, No Start.
Well, that's clear.
A person can't start work without a valid blue card.
That's right, Jess.
All volunteers, students or paid employees must
have a valid blue card before they
start in child related work.
Don't forget, volunteers and students need to be linked
to the organisation they are volunteering or studying with
to get their blue card for free. Yes.
A couple of weeks ago, Cal and I had a
yarn about how volunteers and students need to be linked.
So if you need to know more about the
how to apply, have a listen to episode 4.
Good to hear, Jess.
The next obligation is that organisations need
to take reasonable steps to confirm the
cardholder's identification and then link the card
holder before they start work.
How would an organisation do this?
It's quite easy, Jess.
The organisation needs to see their blue card with a photo
on it or the blue card without a photo and compare
it with their driver's licence or proof of age card.
What happens if they have had their application approved
and they haven't got their blue card yet?
Sometimes it can take a while before
our mob receives the physical card.
Good question, Jess.
When a blue card is approved, a person will receive
an email or a letter with their blue card details
and this lets them know they can start work.
They can send the email or
take the letter to their employer.
The employer should also ask for their
identification to confirm they are the cardholder.
If a person needs their card details, they can call us.
Yes, we also have a special email address
for our mob to contact us on.
It's yarn@bluecard.qld.gov.au
Once the organisation is satisfied with the ID check.
they then need to link them to their organisation
and this must be done before they start work.
The organisation can do this either via the
organisation portal or by submitting a link form.
Each time a card holder starts with a new
organisation, they must be linked to that organisation.
Card holders can be linked
to more than one organisation.
What about if they renew their card before it expires?
What happens to all their existing links?
Well, Jess, the existing links will automatically be carried
over to their new card if they renew online.
The applicant portal will show which organisations
they are linked to and ask the
person to confirm if they are current.
If a person is renewing via the paper
form, the links will also carry over.
Just be aware if you decide to use the paper
form and you post it in, it will take some
time for us to receive the form, so make sure
you allow enough time renewing your blue card or just
email it to us. For our listeners,
if you remember episode 2 where SJ
let us know about how applicants and
card holders are monitored daily by police.
Well, if there is a change in a person's
police information, we are notified and will assess whether
or not the person should keep their card.
If we make the decision that a person should
not keep their blue card, we will notify all
organisations which are linked to the person's blue card.
If an organisation hasn't linked a card holder,
we won't know which organisation to tell if
a person can't work with kids anymore.
Yes, that is why linking is such an
important part of the blue card system.
If you don't link a card holder, this creates
a real risk that you may continue to employ
somebody who is not eligible to work with kids.
This may result in a risk of harm
to the children in a service environment, as
well as potential offences committed by the organisation.
And we don't want that happening to our gunanoos.
That's right, Jess.
Plus, an organisation also has specific obligations.
If you become aware that an employee or volunteer
has been issued with a negative notice, is a
known disqualified person, or has had their blue or
exemption card cancelled or suspended, an organisation must ensure
the employee or volunteer does not continue to work
with kids in their organisation.
This includes any position on a committee or
board where the person's decision making impacts on
children within the organisation service environment.
I can see why linking is so important.
What happens when somebody leaves an organisation?
Organisations should let us know when
a person leaves their organisation.
By completing a delink a person from your organisation
form, or if the organisation is using the Organisation
Portal, they can delink the cardholder online.
So you mentioned earlier about the employees register.
Can you tell our listeners a
little bit more about that?
Sure can, Jess.
The next responsibility is for organisations
to maintain a register of all
people engaged in child related work.
You can download an employee register template from
our website and it's such a great tool.
Organisations must make sure their employee registers up to date
and includes information such as; whether a person requires a
blue card and if they don't, why? For example, an
exemption may apply, the type of application or blue card,
such as if it is a paid volunteer or an
exemption card, the date of issue for their blue or
exemption card, the blue or exemption card number and expiry
date, the renewal date, and if a renewal application is
lodged, record when the person submitted their renewal application, so
you'll have a record of whether it was before or
after expiry.
Remember, if submitted before expiring, the
person can keep working while the
renewal applications in progress.
Organisations using the Organisation Portal can export a
list of the blue card holders into the
editable version of the employee register template.
What about organisations?
Do they need to let us
know when their organisation details change?
It's so important that organisations keep us updated
on any changes to the organisation, such as
their organisation name, postal address, email address or
phone numbers and the details of the person
or people who manage the organisations
blue card matters. So Meegan, can you briefly tell
our listeners why risk management is so important?
Well, organisations and business operators regulated by
the blue card system must have a
child and youth risk management strategy.
The blue card itself is just one
part of the blue card system.
A child and youth risk management strategy help
create safe and supportive environments for children.
However, I know you will talk more about risk management
in your next episode, so I'll leave it at that.
We have a range of resources
to help organisations fulfill their obligations,
which are available on our website.
This includes videos, templates, posters, a
toolkit and references to other child
safe organisations and materials. That's right.
These resources will assist organisations to developing
their child and youth risk management strategy.
Remember, safe service environments don't just happen.
They require ongoing planning,
commitment and maintenance.
Thanks for your time today, Meegan.
I have learnt so much and enjoyed our time together,
and a big thank you to those who are listening.
Our next episode will be
on child and risk management strategies.
So until then, let's keep our
little gunanoos safe and stay deadly.