Working with Children Check Victoria: Fees, Validity and the Worker Screening Act

The Victorian Working with Children Check costs $139.20 for an employee applicant from 1 July 2026, is free for volunteers, and lasts 5 years. The Worker Screening Act 2020 is the Act that governs it; the check itself is still called the Working with Children Check.

This article addresses the Working with Children Check as it applies in Victoria. It does not address the schemes operating in other Australian states and territories; see the background checks hub for the full comparison.

The Check Is the Working with Children Check, Not the "Worker Screening Check"

The requirement to obtain a Working with Children Check in Victoria is established by the Worker Screening Act 2020, which came into force on 1 February 2021 and repealed the earlier Working with Children Act 2005. That is a description of the legislation behind the check, not a new name for the check itself. Victoria's own government pages consistently describe the product applicants apply for, and hold, as the Working with Children Check; "Worker Screening" describes the regulatory Act and system, not a rebranded check. A reader who encounters "Worker Screening Check" as a term should treat it as an informal or incorrect variant, not the current official name. The check applies to anyone undertaking child-related work in Victoria, whether paid or voluntary, defined by the categories of work set out in the Worker Screening Act 2020 rather than by job title alone; a person unsure whether their specific role is covered should check the Victorian Government's own guidance rather than assume based on the sector.

Cost and Validity

For the financial year running from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, an employee check costs $139.20, a volunteer check is free, upgrading from a volunteer check to an employee check costs $139.20, and renewing an existing employee check costs $105.30. Once granted, a Victorian Working with Children Check is valid for 5 years, unless it is suspended, cancelled or surrendered before then.

Portability and the Interstate Visitor Exception

A Victorian Working with Children Check does not transfer automatically to another state or territory, and the reverse is also true: an interstate check does not generally cover child-related work in Victoria. Victoria does allow one narrow exception, permitting a person who holds a current interstate working with children check to work in Victoria for up to 30 days in a calendar year in connection with a specific event, without needing a Victorian check for that limited purpose. This is an exception for brief visits, not general portability, and it does not cover ongoing or relocated work.

Victoria's Spent Convictions Rule Is Broader Than a Simple Months Test

Victoria's Spent Convictions Act 2021 defines a "serious conviction" as one meeting any of three tests: a sentence with a custodial term of more than 30 months, a conviction for a sexual offence, or a conviction for a serious violence offence. A serious conviction never becomes spent automatically under the Act, and the second and third categories apply regardless of the actual sentence length, so a sexual offence conviction is excluded from automatic spending even where the sentence imposed was well under 30 months. Victoria also makes it an offence, carrying a maximum of 40 penalty units, for a person with access to conviction records to disclose or use information about a spent conviction without authorisation, a specific protection that goes beyond the general non-disclosure right most jurisdictions provide.

Continuous Monitoring

A Victorian WWCC is monitored throughout its 5-year term, not only reassessed at renewal. New police or disciplinary information about a holder can lead to the check being reviewed, suspended or cancelled before its stated expiry date, consistent with the continuous-monitoring approach described across all eight Australian schemes on the Working with Children Check across Australia page.

How the Victorian WWCC Differs From a Standard Police Check

A Victorian Working with Children Check is a separate product from an ordinary national police check, not a relabelled version of it. It draws on a broader dataset assembled specifically for child-related screening and results in a clearance decision, rather than simply listing convictions for an employer to interpret themselves. A clean national police check does not substitute for a Victorian WWCC where the WWCC is legally required. See national police checks in Australia for how the general police-check pathway works and when it is the correct product to apply for instead.

Employer Obligations in Victoria

An organisation engaging someone for child-related work in Victoria must confirm the person holds a current, valid Working with Children Check before they start. Because criminal record is sensitive information under the Commonwealth Privacy Act, any employer collecting or verifying this information still needs the individual's consent and a genuine link between the collection and the specific role, consistent with the framework described on criminal record and employment rights in Australia. Victoria's own 40 penalty unit offence for unauthorised disclosure of a spent conviction, discussed above, is a further reminder that access to screening information carries its own legal obligations, not just the initial collection.

This article provides general legal information about the Working with Children Check in Victoria, verified 21 July 2026. It does not assess whether a specific applicant's record would affect their own application. For advice on your situation, consult a legal practitioner admitted in the relevant Australian state or territory.

Related reading: the background checks hub, the Working with Children Check across Australia, spent convictions in Australia, and criminal record and employment rights in Australia.