Touch Football Australia (TFA) has introduced a new national Working with Children Check (WWCC) Policy and Guidelines to strengthen child safety across Touch Football.
The Policy establishes a consistent national approach to WWCCs and sets clear expectations for TFA, states, territories, regions, Affiliates, and clubs. It applies to the people undertaking roles involved in delivering Touch Football activities where children and young people are participating.
Why are we introducing this?
The safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a shared responsibility.
A WWCC is an important safeguard that helps ensure people working with children are appropriately screened. However, it is one part of a broader child-safe approach and does not replace appropriate recruitment, supervision, education, codes of conduct, complaints processes, risk management, and reporting obligations.
The new national Policy provides a consistent standard across Touch Football, recognising that WWCC requirements and terminology differ between Australian states and territories.
Importantly, TFA has adopted a higher standard than the minimum legislative requirements in some jurisdictions where this is considered necessary to strengthen child safety and provide a consistent national approach.
When does it apply?
From 1 November 2026, all applicable roles at representative events must be compliant with the TFA WWCC Policy and Guidelines.
This means that people undertaking roles covered by the Policy must have the appropriate WWCC (or equivalent) verified before participating in a representative event.
Individual states and territories may choose to implement this requirement earlier within their own jurisdiction.
Affiliate-level compliance must be in place no later than 1 January 2027.
This provides Affiliates with a transition period to review their roles, establish their verification processes, and ensure people requiring a WWCC are compliant.
Who needs a WWCC?
The Policy applies to a broad range of roles where adults are working with or supporting children, including:
- Coaches and assistant coaches, including parents, guardians, carers, and close relatives coaching,
- Team managers, including parents, guardians, carers, and close relatives managing their own child’s team,
- Adult referees,
- Referee coaches, assessors, mentors, and course presenters,
- Selectors and pathway personnel,
- Trainers, physiotherapists, first aid and medical personnel,
- Chaperones, tour managers, camp supervisors, and overnight-stay personnel,
- Development officers, clinic, and school program deliverers,
- Relevant committee members, administrators, and technical personnel, and
- Other adults undertaking child-related work or roles identified by TFA, a state, territory, region or Affiliate.
A key change: parent coaches and managers
Being the parent or close relative of a child does not remove the WWCC requirement under the TFA Policy.
Adult parents, guardians, carers or close-relative coaches and managers of junior teams are required to hold and provide a WWCC for verification.
A key change: adult referees
Adult referees are also required to hold a WWCC under the TFA Policy, including adult referee coaches, mentors, assessors, support personnel, and course presenters.
Junior referees and junior coaches under 18 are not required to hold a WWCC under the TFA Policy, unless the relevant state or territory legislation requires it, but must be appropriately supervised and supported in accordance with child safeguarding practices.
What does compliance involve?
Having a card or WWCC number is not enough.
The relevant organisation must verify the person's WWCC through the appropriate government screening authority's online verification system. A screenshot, email, PDF or verbal confirmation is not sufficient.
Organisations will also need to:
- Identify roles requiring a WWCC.
- Ensure people apply for or provide their WWCC details.
- Verify the WWCC through the relevant government system.
- Maintain a secure verification register.
- Monitor expiry dates and renewals.
- Act immediately where a person's clearance is expired, cancelled, suspended, barred, not cleared or otherwise invalid.
What about the different state and territory systems?
The TFA Policy uses WWCC as a national term but recognises that each jurisdiction has its own system. These include:
- Australian Capital Territory – Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP)
- New South Wales – Working with Children Check (WWCC)
- Northern Territory – Ochre Card
- Queensland – Blue Card
- South Australia – WWCC
- Tasmania – Registration to Work with Vulnerable People (RWVP)
- Victoria – WWCC
- Western Australia – WWCC
Members must continue to comply with the requirements of the jurisdiction in which they are undertaking child-related work.
What happens if someone isn't compliant?
A person who is required to hold a WWCC cannot be approved, appointed, rostered, accredited, registered or engaged in the relevant role until the required verifications are met.
Non-compliance may also result in removal from an appointment, registration, accreditation, roster, team selection or event access.
Serious or repeated non-compliance may be escalated to relevant TFA, state or territory authorities and, where appropriate, external authorities.
Protecting your information
WWCC information is personal information and must be handled securely.
TFA, states, territories, regions, Affiliates, and clubs must take reasonable steps to protect WWCC information and should not publish WWCC numbers, dates of birth or other sensitive personal information in team lists, websites, social media or other public communications.
What do Members need to do now?
If you undertake a role involving children in Touch Football, please check your current WWCC status and ensure your details can be verified by the relevant Touch Football organisation.
States, territories, regions, Affiliates, and clubs will provide further information about their local implementation arrangements, registration processes and verification requirements.
Key dates
- 1 November 2026
- WWCC compliance required for all applicable roles at representative events.
- States and territories may implement the requirements earlier.
- 1 January 2027
- WWCC compliance must be in place across TFA Affiliates.
Keeping children safe is a shared responsibility
The introduction of the national WWCC Policy and Guidelines is an important step in strengthening child safety across Touch Football.
It is about making sure we have the right safeguards in place so children and young people can participate in Touch Football in a safe, positive, and inclusive environment.
We thank all Members, volunteers, coaches, referees, selectors, officials, administrators, parents, and organisations for their support as we implement this important national child safety initiative.
CLICK HERE to read the full WWCC Policy and Guidelines.
