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How it works

One clear path from volunteering to cleared

Each role sets what a person needs. Volunteers add their details, your team checks them, and the register keeps everything current. Here's the whole journey, what each status means, and who can see what.

The clearance journey

Who does what, and when

  1. Church team · once

    Set up roles and requirements

    Your church starts with example roles from Level 1 to Level 4. For each role you choose what's needed – a Working with Children Check, Creating Safe Spaces training, a police check, the code of conduct, the screening questionnaire, any other credentials your church adds (such as first aid), and how many referees – and how often each must be renewed. If someone holds more than one role, the strictest requirement applies.

  2. Volunteer · about 5 minutes

    Apply on your church's link

    Every church has its own link to share in the bulletin, on screens or as a QR code. Volunteers enter their details, choose a role and ministry, and complete the Volunteer Application & Screening Questionnaire step by step – the under-18 version, with parent or guardian sign-off, appears automatically for younger helpers. No paper form needed.

  3. Volunteer

    Complete the checklist

    They add their WWCC number and expiry, upload their training certificate (and police check if their role needs one), read and sign the code of conduct, complete the screening questionnaire, and nominate referees who know them well.

  4. Church admin

    Verify the WWCC and sight certificates

    An admin checks the WWCC on the state register and records the result and date. Training, police and other certificates are sighted and accepted. If a volunteer has applied for a WWCC but doesn't have their number yet, the register shows "application in progress" – it never counts as a clearance. The register records who did each check and when.

  5. Church admin

    Contact the referees

    Using your church's call guide, an admin phones each referee and records their answers. If your church allows it, a referee can instead be emailed a secure, single-use questionnaire, and an admin reviews what comes back. If a referee raises a concern, the person is placed on hold and the concern goes to a senior admin.

  6. Automatic

    Cleared – and kept that way

    When everything is in place the person shows as Cleared. From then on the register watches every expiry date and reminds people before anything lapses.

Statuses

Four statuses, worked out for you

You never set a status by hand. The register calculates it from the person's roles and what's on file, and always shows the reason.

Cleared
Every requirement for their roles is met and in date. OK to roster.
Pending
Something is missing or waiting on you to verify it – a WWCC to check, references to call, training to sight.
Lapsed
Something that was in place has expired. Don't roster them until it's renewed. They're reminded automatically.
On hold
Paused for a person to look at it – a reference concern, a screening questionnaire answer, a WWCC result, or a manual hold. Only senior admins can release it.

Example requirements

What each level needs

These are the starting examples each church receives. Your church can change them at any time.

RoleWWCCTrainingPolice checkCodeQuestionnaireReferees
Level 1
General volunteer		–––Yearly––
Level 2
Children & youth helper		✓3-yearly–Yearly3-yearly2
Level 3
Children & youth leader		✓3-yearly–Yearly3-yearly2
Level 4
Pastor, staff, Safe Church Team		✓3-yearly3-yearlyYearly3-yearly2

"Training" is Creating Safe Spaces; "Code" is the code of conduct. A WWCC's expiry comes from the card itself (usually five years). Churches can add their own credentials – a first aid certificate, a driver's licence – and require them for particular roles. Volunteers under 18 don't need a WWCC in NSW; the register knows this and flags them as they approach their 18th birthday.

Reminders

Nothing expires by surprise

  • 90 daysFirst friendly reminder to the volunteer, with a link straight to their record.
  • 60 daysSecond reminder. The person appears in your "coming up for renewal" list.
  • 30 daysFinal reminder before it lapses.
  • ExpiredStatus changes to Lapsed. Reminders continue at the frequency your church sets until it's renewed.

Each church chooses its warning windows and how often reminders and the admin digest are sent.

When there's a concern

A careful, recorded process

  1. A concern is raised
    A referee raises something on the phone or in a written reference, a volunteer answers yes to a screening question, a WWCC comes back barred, or an admin places a manual hold.
  2. The person goes on hold
    Their status changes to On hold straight away. Senior admins are emailed – without any detail in the email.
  3. A senior admin reviews it
    Only senior admins can read the concern. They record a decision and their reasons.
  4. The outcome is recorded
    Either the hold is released, or the person remains not cleared for that role. Every step is in the audit log.

Access

Who can see what

VolunteerMinistry leaderChurch adminSenior church admin
Their own record✓–––
Clearance status for their ministry–✓✓✓
Full register and contact details––✓✓
Verify checks, contact referees, approve roles––✓✓
Reports and spreadsheet exports––✓✓
Concern details and screening answers–––✓
Release holds, archive, team, settings, audit log–––✓

Screening answers and health information are treated like concern details: only senior admins can read them.

See it from your point of view

Step-by-step guides for volunteers, church teams and ministry leaders.

Help & guides