❓ Hon Nick Goiran asks about the Working with Children Screening Unit's operations, staffing, and processing times for WWC applications. The Department of Communities provides detailed information on these aspects.
AnsweredQoN 668Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Working with Children Screening Unit, and I ask: (a) is this unit responsible for assessing Working with Children (WWC) applications; (b) on average, how much time does it take to assess a WWC application; (c) how many full time equivalent staff are allocated to this unit; (d) of those staff referred to in (c), how many have a managerial role; (e) can the Minister provide a breakdown of all staff in this unit by job title; and (f) are there any current vacancies in this unit?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
18 November 2025
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food representing the Minister for Child Protection
Response time
9 days
The Department of Communities advises:
(a) Yes.
(b) The length of time to assess a WWC application is dependent on whether an applicant has a criminal history record. On average, an application where the applicant does not have a criminal history check will take one to three weeks to assess. If an applicant does have a criminal history record the length of time to assess is dependent on complexity, the amount of information or evidence that needs to be analysed and whether information needs to be sourced from a third party such as a court or police authority. These applications can take weeks to months to assess depending on complexity.
(c) 39 permanent FTE and five temporary FTE. (Total 44 FTE)
(d) Five.
(e)
Permanent FTE
Temporary FTE
Temp FTE End Date
Executive
Director
1.0
Operations and Customer Support
Manager Operations
1.0
Business Manager
1.0
Customer Support Coordinator
1.0
Customer Support Team Leader
1.0
31/12/2025
Customer Support Officer
5.0
2.0
31/12/2025
Project Officer
1.0
Senior Business Support Officer
1.0
Business Support Officer
1.0
Screening and Assessment
Manager
1.0
Team Leader
2.0
Senior Assessing Officer
7.4
1.0
31/12/2025
Information Coordinator
1.0
Assessing Officer
1.0
Screening Officer
2.8
1.0
31/12/2025
Compliance Support Officer
1.0
Compliance and Investigations
Manager
1.0
Team Leader
1.0
Senior Compliance and Investigations Officer
3.0
Compliance Officer
1.0
Community Engagement
Manager
1.0
Senior Community Engagement Officer
2.8
Community Engagement Support Officer
1.0
(f) No.
(a) Yes.
(b) The length of time to assess a WWC application is dependent on whether an applicant has a criminal history record. On average, an application where the applicant does not have a criminal history check will take one to three weeks to assess. If an applicant does have a criminal history record the length of time to assess is dependent on complexity, the amount of information or evidence that needs to be analysed and whether information needs to be sourced from a third party such as a court or police authority. These applications can take weeks to months to assess depending on complexity.
(c) 39 permanent FTE and five temporary FTE. (Total 44 FTE)
(d) Five.
(e)
Permanent FTE
Temporary FTE
Temp FTE End Date
Executive
Director
1.0
Operations and Customer Support
Manager Operations
1.0
Business Manager
1.0
Customer Support Coordinator
1.0
Customer Support Team Leader
1.0
31/12/2025
Customer Support Officer
5.0
2.0
31/12/2025
Project Officer
1.0
Senior Business Support Officer
1.0
Business Support Officer
1.0
Screening and Assessment
Manager
1.0
Team Leader
2.0
Senior Assessing Officer
7.4
1.0
31/12/2025
Information Coordinator
1.0
Assessing Officer
1.0
Screening Officer
2.8
1.0
31/12/2025
Compliance Support Officer
1.0
Compliance and Investigations
Manager
1.0
Team Leader
1.0
Senior Compliance and Investigations Officer
3.0
Compliance Officer
1.0
Community Engagement
Manager
1.0
Senior Community Engagement Officer
2.8
Community Engagement Support Officer
1.0
(f) No.
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