Apply for a WA Working with Children Check at Australia Post — $87 for paid workers, $11 for volunteers, valid 3 years — and unusually for Australia, you can start work while the application is pending.
Overview
Western Australia's Working with Children Check is administered by the WWC Screening Unit in the Department of Communities, and it works differently from the eastern states in almost every practical detail. Applications are lodged in person at an authorised Australia Post outlet on a hardcopy form, not through an online portal — although renewals can be done online through a personal WWC account.
The fee is $87 for paid employees and the self-employed, and $11 for volunteers, unpaid people and students on unpaid placements (the same $11 applies to replacement cards). The card is valid for 3 years and can be renewed up to 3 months before expiry.
WA's most distinctive rule favours hiring speed: an applicant can generally start child-related work while their application is pending — the application receipt remains valid until an outcome is made. That is the opposite of Queensland's No Card, No Start, and it means WA employers verify twice: the receipt at commencement, then the card once issued.
WA is also one of two states (with NSW) where RefChecks combines a White Card or licence document check with a live register lookup in one product. For WWC cards, RefChecks verifies the holder's name, card number, status and expiry with the Screening Unit's records and stores the evidence in the candidate's report.
What's Included
WA's size makes the Australia Post application channel genuinely useful — regional workers apply at their local outlet, and employers verify remotely rather than sighting cards across thousands of kilometres.
Teachers, boarding supervisors and school support staff across WA need a WWC Card; the work-while-pending rule keeps term-start hiring moving while applications process.
Community, recreation and youth-program staff in mining towns turn over quickly — 3-year expiry plus a mobile workforce makes ongoing card verification, not one-off sighting, the safe pattern.
WA charges volunteers a nominal $11 rather than nothing — but unpaid students on placement pay the same $11, one of the few states with an explicit student category at that price.
Process
Pick up or bring the application form to an authorised Australia Post outlet, present ID, and pay $87 (paid work) or $11 (volunteer/student). Keep the receipt.
Unlike Queensland, WA generally lets you start child-related work while the application is pending — the receipt stands until the Screening Unit makes an outcome.
The WWC Card arrives valid for 3 years. Renewal opens 3 months before expiry and can be done online through your WWC account — no second trip to the post office.
Turnaround & Pricing
Turnaround Time
Work permitted while pending — receipt valid until outcome
Included in all plans
From $49/month
Card verification is a per-check cost on top of your plan quota. The WA government fee ($87 paid / $11 volunteer) is paid at Australia Post.
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