Welcome to the Blue Card Services Online Information Session.
We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land upon which we are recording
this information session. We pay our respect to elders both past
and present for their courage and leadership
in advocating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We also pay our respect to future elders and acknowledge the valuable role they
play in shaping our future generations. We extend a special welcome to all First
Nation peoples listening to this information session.
This video provides information on the overview of the blue card system.
So let's look at how it all works. There are three main parts
or puzzle pieces of the blue card system which only work effectively when all
three parts are together. The first piece of the puzzle is what we
refer to as the past. The blue card check is undertaken to
determine a person's eligibility to work with children
based on known police or disciplinary information.
It is important to note that the check doesn't assess a person's suitability to
work with children. Regardless of the type of application,
whether it is a paid, volunteer or business application, all
applications are screened the same way. The second piece of the puzzle is what
we refer to as the present. This section represents the
daily monitoring and compliance processes
within the blue card system. Applicants and card holders are monitored on a daily
basis so that if their information changes, for
example, if they were charged with a criminal
offence, immediate steps can be taken to protect children from harm and/or
review their eligibility to continue holding a blue card. The
final and important piece of the puzzle is
the future. We know that safe environments don't just happen.
They require planning, ongoing management and review.
Child and youth risk management strategies are required to be developed
and implemented by all organisations that provide
services to children which fall within the scope of the blue card system.
Before we discuss these sections in more detail, it is important we look at the
remaining piece of the puzzle, who needs a blue card? And by this, we
really mean who is eligible to apply for a blue card?
The blue card system is structured so that businesses
and organisations providing services or conducting activities
which are essential to children's development and well-being,
such as child care, education, sport and cultural activities,
are captured and require blue card screening.
It is important to be aware that the blue card system
does not apply to every environment where a child
may be present and not everyone needs a blue card.
Organisations cannot adopt a policy requiring
individuals to obtain blue cards if they do not provide
child-related services which fall within the scope
of the blue card system. Under the No Card, No Start laws, a person
can apply for a blue card without having to be engaged in child-
regulated work. This is so they can be job ready.
However, there are certain people who cannot apply for
a blue card or who are ineligible to apply.
These people are: disqualified persons,
which means the person has been convicted of a disqualifying offence,
such as rape or murder; negative notice holders,
which means the person has been denied a blue card
based on their known past police and disciplinary
information. There are now stricter requirements for people who rely on an
exemption to work or volunteer with kids
through the introduction of the terms 'restricted person',
'restricted employment' and associated offences. There are also some exemptions
that exist for certain people. Queensland teachers
and police officers cannot apply for a blue card and must
instead apply for an exemption card. They only need an exemption card when
they are working or volunteering with kids
outside their professional duties. For example,
a teacher does not need an exemption card to teach in a school
but would need an exemption card to privately tutor
children's piano lessons. Registered health practitioners do not need blue
cards whilst working within their capacity
as a health practitioner. If they are working or volunteering with children in
a different role, they require a blue card. For example, a
registered nurse who might coach a junior club netball
team. Further information to assist you to
determine whether a person needs a blue card
can be accessed on the Blue Card Services website or by watching
'Can I apply for a blue card?" and "Restricted person
and restricted employment' video. We will now discuss
each piece in more detail. So let's look at the blue card check itself.
The working with children check, also known as the blue card check,
is a check that assesses: any national conviction,
including spent convictions, and pending and non-conviction charges for an
offence, even if no conviction was recorded; any
national charge for an offence; disciplinary information
held by certain professional organisations,
including teachers, child care licensees and foster carers;
information that the Police Commissioner may provide in relation to police
investigations into allegations of serious child-related sexual offences,
even if no charges were laid; if the person is a particular offender
who has committed sexual or other particular
serious offences against children and who is subject to an
order to keep police informed about their whereabouts
and other personal details for a period of time
under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting Act)
2004; if the person is the subject of an order made by the court which prohibits
them from engaging in conduct which poses a
risk to the lives or sexual safety of children
under the Child Protection (Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2008.
For example, there may be restrictions imposed regarding
who they can associate with, locations they can be
or reside or employment types; if the person is the subject of an order
made by a court prohibiting them from applying for a blue card;
and if the person is a released former prisoner
who has committed offences of a serious sexual nature
and who is the subject of an order made by a court to detain
or impose conditions on their release under the Dangerous
Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003. If a person does not return any police
or disciplinary information, their application will be approved and
they will be issued with a working with children clearance
and a blue card or exemption card. Under the No Card, No Start laws, all
cards will display the card holder's photograph.
If a person returns police or disciplinary information,
this information will be assessed and a determination will be made
as to whether or not it is in the best interests of children for the person to
be issued with a blue card. The assessment process ensures that
natural justice is afforded to applicants
through the submission process where a negative notice is proposed to be issued.
The submission process is the applicant's opportunity to respond to
any adverse information of which Blue Card Services is aware
before a final decision is made. The most important consideration when
making an employment screening decision is the safety and well-being of children
and, in particular, a child's entitlement to be cared for in
a way that protects them from harm and promotes their well-being.
If a person's application is refused, they are issued with a negative notice
which prohibits them from working in child-related employment
or carrying on a child-related business. A person who is issued with a negative
notice or has their blue or exemption card
suspended is considered a restricted person and
cannot engage in restricted employment. If a person's application is approved, a
blue or exemption card is issued. Organisations can learn more
by watching the 'Managing high risk individuals for
organisations' video. Now, let's take a look at the monitoring
and compliance aspect of the blue card system.
Under the No Card, No Start laws, a person must have a valid blue card,
no longer a pending application, before they can start working with children
in regulated employment. Before engaging a person
in child-related work, an organisation must take reasonable steps to ensure a
blue or exemption card belongs to the
card holder. They can do this by checking the card holder's drivers licence or
photograph on their blue card. They must ensure the card holder is
linked to their organisation. Linking a card holder to an organisation
is a simple process that can be done by either
submitting a 'Link a person to your organisation' form
or using the Organisation Portal. The police information of all blue card
holders and applicants is monitored on a daily basis through an
exchange of information between the Queensland Police Service
and Blue Card Services. Once Blue Card Services becomes aware of a change in
police information, immediate steps can be taken to protect
children from harm, which might include: suspending or
cancelling a person's card; and notifying your organisation of any
suspension or cancellation to a person's status and
requiring them to be removed from child- related work or activities. This is the
reason why organisations must ensure all card
holders are linked to them. It ensures that Blue Card Services can
notify all organisations which are linked to the person's card
if there is a change to a person's police information. If your organisation
hasn't told us that it has engaged the person,
then we will not know to tell an organisation that the person is no
longer eligible to work in child-related employment. As such,
there is a real risk that the organisation may continue to
employ somebody who is not eligible to work with
children which may result in a risk of harm to children in the service
environment, as well as the organisation may be committing an offence for which
penalties apply. There are also other obligations under
the blue card system which apply to organisations and
individuals and we work to ensure that everybody
involved with the blue card system is compliant.
You can find out more about obligations under the blue card system
on our website and also by watching the 'Key obligations for organisations'
and 'Key obligations for individuals' videos.
The final part to talk about is risk management strategies.
Organisations falling within the scope of the blue card system
must have policies and procedures which address eight minimum requirements.
These requirements are: a statement of commitment;
a code of conduct for interacting with children; procedures for recruiting,
selecting, training and managing staff; procedures for handling disclosures or
suspicions of harm; a plan for high-risk events; compliance
with blue card requirements, including an employee register; managing
breaches of the risk management strategy; and communication of the strategy. These
strategies will assist organisations with identifying and
minimising the risk of harm to children in their service environment. You may
have heard talk about National Principles for Child Safe
Organisations. The national principles outline 10
elements that are fundamental to making an organisation safe for children.
Our 8 minimum requirements meet the 10 elements
outlined in the national principles. Risk management strategies are monitored by
Blue Card Services and must be reviewed at least on an
annual basis and after any incidents to ensure that
risks continue to be addressed and minimised throughout your organisation.
You can find out more about the specific requirements relating to risk management
strategies and how to develop or improve your
strategies on our website. Thank you for taking the time to learn
about the blue card system. We hope you found this video useful and
we encourage you to watch the remaining videos
on offer from the Blue Card Services YouTube channel.
For more information, visit our website, phone our call centre
or send us an email.