A number of our positions are prescribed. The Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016 defines a prescribed position to mean a position in which a person works, or is likely to work, with children; or any other position, or a position of a class, prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition.
The Children’s Protection Regulations 2010 include the following as prescribed functions:
- Regular contact with children or working in close proximity to children on a regular basis, unless the contact or work is directly supervised at all times; or
- Supervision or management of persons in positions requiring or involving regular contact with children or working in close proximity to children on a regular basis; or
- Access to records relating to children in connection with health services, child protection services, education services, disability services and court orders and proceedings.
Regular contact implies contact that has a constant or definite pattern, or which recurs at short uniform intervals or on several occasions during short periods of time, such as a week.
There are some circumstances that a person entering a prescribed position at the University may be exempt from requiring an assessment. These include volunteers who are under 18 years of age and registered teachers.
A volunteer who is under 18 years of age is defined as a person who undertakes work for an event or activity that only takes place on no more than 10 consecutive days or not more than one day a month;
All staff must hold the appropriate DHS screening assessment before they start work in a prescribed position. This includes secondments and acting roles.