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Application Categories

If you have been charged with or found guilty of an offence or had a finding made against you by a specified professional body (currently the Victorian Institute of Teaching and the out of home carers Suitability Panel) or a relevant determination by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) under the Health Professions Regulation Act 2005, the Department of Justice will need to consider your application further and will classify your application into one of 3 categories.

The outcome of your application and the factors considered in assessing your application are different depending on which application category the offence or finding corresponds with.

The application categories are set out below.

Category 1

Broadly, applications are classified as Category 1 when serious offences of a sexual nature have been committed by an adult against a child or children. This category also includes child pornography offences. People who are on the Sex Offenders Register or subject to sex offender supervision orders or detention orders are also included in Category 1, but are prohibited from applying for a WWC Check.

For Category 1 applications, the department must give a Negative Notice. This means that the person will fail the WWC Check and cannot work in ‘child-related work’, even if directly supervised, unless VCAT orders that an Assessment Notice be given.

Category 2

Broadly, applications are classified as Category 2 where the applicant has committed:

• a serious violent offence
• a serious drug offence or
• a serious sexual offence, either as an adult against another adult or as a child (against either an adult or another child).

People who have been charged with offences that fall under Categories 1 and 2 and are awaiting a final outcome for those charges (charge pending) are included in Category 2.

With Category 2 applications, the department must issue a Negative Notice unless satisfied that giving an Assessment Notice would not pose an unjustifiable risk to the safety of children.

Category 3

Broadly, applications are classified as Category 3 where:

• there has been a finding made against the applicant by a specified professional body (currently only the Victorian Institute of Teaching and out of home carers Suitability Panel )

or

• VCAT has made a determination under the Health Professions Registration Act 2005, suspending or cancelling the registered health professional or student

or

• the applicant has been charged with or found guilty of certain offences not covered by Categories 1 and 2 (including offences against the Working with Children Act 2005).

With Category 3 applications, the department must give an Assessment Notice to the applicant unless it is appropriate to refuse to do so in the circumstances.

When deciding a final outcome for Category 2 and 3 applications, the department is required to consider a number of factors. See the ‘making a submission’ page for details of these.

Other applications

For offence/s that do not place the application in Category 1, 2 or 3, if there are exceptional circumstances and there is a significant link between the offence/s and a risk to the safety of children, an applicant may still fail the WWC Check and be given a Negative Notice.

The Offences Checklist under the Related Publications menu may assist you in determining whether an application is likely to be classified in Category 1, 2 or 3.

For further information about how applications are classified into categories contact the WWC Check Information Line. For legal advice, contact your legal adviser.