Apply for a NSW Working With Children Check through Service NSW — $112 for paid workers, free for volunteers, valid 5 years — then have the clearance verified against the Office of the Children's Guardian register.
Overview
The Working With Children Check (WWCC) in New South Wales is a mandatory clearance for anyone in child-related work, administered by the Office of the Children's Guardian (OCG). It combines a national criminal history check with a review of workplace misconduct findings and other records held by government agencies, and the result is a clearance number that employers verify — not a card you show once and forget.
The application fee is $112 for paid workers and free for volunteers (2026–27). A clearance is valid for 5 years, but it is continuously monitored for the whole period: if new relevant information is recorded against a holder, the OCG can bar them mid-term, which is why NSW expects employers to verify against the live register rather than sight a certificate.
Applications start online through Service NSW. You complete the form, then attend a Service NSW centre with four proof-of-identity documents — at least one carrying both photo and signature (a NSW Digital Driver Licence is accepted; other digital documents are not) — and pay the fee if you're applying as a paid worker. The national police check component can take up to 4 weeks after your documents are sighted.
One NSW-specific trap for employers: the volunteer and paid categories are legally distinct. A clearance issued in the volunteer category cannot be used for paid child-related work, so a "current" WWCC can still be the wrong WWCC. RefChecks verifies the holder name, category, status and expiry against the NSW register and records the result in the candidate's report.
What's Included
NSW teachers, tutors, early-childhood educators and school support staff must hold a paid-category WWCC before starting — school systems audit clearance numbers against the OCG register.
Nurses, allied health practitioners and support workers treating patients under 18 in NSW hospitals and clinics need a current WWCC alongside their professional registration.
Foster carers, residential care workers and youth caseworkers are among the most closely monitored WWCC holders in NSW — the Children's Guardian oversees both the check and the sector.
Coaches, instructors and leaders in NSW clubs and religious organisations need a WWCC — volunteer-category clearances are free but cannot be carried into paid roles.
Process
Complete the online application with details exactly matching your identity documents. You receive an application number when the form is submitted.
Attend a Service NSW centre with four proof-of-identity documents (one with photo and signature) and pay the $112 fee if applying as a paid worker.
The national police check leg can take up to 4 weeks. Once cleared, your WWCC number is what employers verify against the OCG register — for the full 5 years.
Turnaround & Pricing
Turnaround Time
Police check leg up to 4 weeks after ID is sighted
Included in all plans
From $49/month
Register verification of a candidate WWCC is a per-check cost on top of your plan quota. The NSW government application fee ($112 paid / free volunteer) is paid by the applicant to Service NSW.
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