Update
As of 19 October 2026
Working with Children Connect online service and mandatory training
Keeping children safe is a shared responsibility.
Victoria is strengthening the Working with Children (WWC) Check to provide greater safeguards for children and help organisations make safer decisions about the people they engage to work or volunteer with children.
These changes have important implications for organisations that engage volunteers in child-related work, including those responsible for recruiting, managing and supporting volunteers.
Working with Children (WWC) Connect is now available
WWC Connect is a new online service available on Service Victoria. It will enable organisations and sole traders to meet the new legal requirement to notify the Social Services Regulator (SSR) about workers and volunteers they engage to work with children.
This will give the SSR more accurate and up-to-date information about where people with a WWC Clearance are working or volunteering, and will help the SSR identify who needs to be informed if a worker’s or volunteer’s WWC Clearance status changes.
To comply with WWC Connect requirements, your organisation should:
1. Check – use the WWC status checker to verify your workers’ and volunteers’ WWC Clearance.
2. Connect – when ready to formally engage a worker or volunteer, connect them to your organisation using WWC Connect.
3. Record – keep appropriate records to show you have completed the required checks and connection.
4. Maintain – keep your WWC Connect records up to date as workers and volunteers join, leave or their details change.
From 19 October 2026, organisations and sole traders have a legal responsibility to connect people newly engaged to do child-related work via WWC Connect.
Organisations are also strongly encouraged to connect existing workers and volunteers. This will provide a more complete view of your child-related workforce and help ensure you receive notifications if someone’s WWC Clearance status changes.
Mandatory child safety training
New training will help build a consistent understanding of child safety responsibilities across Victoria’s child-related workforce. Organisations should be aware of the legal requirement so they can support affected workers and volunteers.
- new WWC Check applicants
- people renewing their WWC Clearance
- people changing from a volunteer WWC Clearance to employee WWC Clearance.
Training must be completed before their WWC Check application can be finalised.
Organisations engaging volunteers in child-related work should consider these requirements as part of their volunteer recruitment and onboarding processes, and when supporting existing volunteers to renew their clearance.
The training complements and does not replace organisations’ existing child safety responsibilities, induction, supervision and training.
For more information, visit Working With Children Check Victoria below.
