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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
| Role | WWCC | Training | Police check | Code | Questionnaire | Referees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 General volunteer | – | – | – | Yearly | – | – |
| Level 2 Children & youth helper | ✓ | 3-yearly | – | Yearly | 3-yearly | 2 |
| Level 3 Children & youth leader | ✓ | 3-yearly | – | Yearly | 3-yearly | 2 |
| Level 4 Pastor, staff, Safe Church Team | ✓ | 3-yearly | 3-yearly | Yearly | 3-yearly | 2 |
"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
- A concern is raisedA 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.
- The person goes on holdTheir status changes to On hold straight away. Senior admins are emailed – without any detail in the email.
- A senior admin reviews itOnly senior admins can read the concern. They record a decision and their reasons.
- The outcome is recordedEither 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
| Volunteer | Ministry leader | Church admin | Senior 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.