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How long should checks remain valid?
Checks cannot remain valid indefinitely. While all registered people will be required by law to self-disclose new criminal offences to the checking authority, background checking must be undertaken periodically to minimise the risk that new offences have not been disclosed.
While shorter registration periods would reduce the risk of a person with a recent relevant criminal offence maintaining a registration, the length of validity of checks impacts on the cost of operating the checking system and the administrative overhead applicable to registered people (i.e. registered people would need to reapply for registration more frequently).
There has been a trend towards extending the period of validity of registrations in other Australian jurisdictions. Checks in Qld, WA and Vic are valid for 2, 3 and 5 years respectively.
It is proposed that checks in the ACT will remain valid for a period of five years.
Relates to
survey: Would you be prepared to pay for a background check if they were conducted with greater frequency than the proposed period of 5 years?
Comment 1 19 Aug 2009, 11:54 AM
I work as a volunteers coordinator for a NFP organisation. My vols would understand a check every 3 years, so would the families who's homes they enter and the child care centres we assist. Go the shorter period and feel you're reducing the risk of potential perpetrators being in positions where they can offend.
Comment 1.1 19 Aug 2009, 10:45 PM
I agree. It might take an offence one year to get through the court and appear on a record, so 2 years seems too short. Three years reduces risk. Five years is too long between checks. My vote is 3 years.
DHCS Facilitator Comment 1.1.1 DHCS Facilitator 15 Sep 2009, 11:59 AM
There is a strong relationship between the checking interval and the cost of operating the checking system.
Would you be prepared to make a contribution towards the cost of checking if the interval was reduced from the proposed period of five years to three years or less (please participate in the survey via the link above)?
If you are prepared to make a contribution, how much would you be preprared to contribute?
Comment 1.1.1.1 16 Sep 2009, 11:58 AM
I think paid workers should have to obtain their own checks. It should be required paperwork when applying for a job similar to a first aid certificate or drivers licence. Currently a police check costs a bout $75 as far as I understand it. $75 every 3 years is reasonable.
Comment 1.1.1.1.1 16 Oct 2009, 9:40 AM
Perhaps employee and employer could split the cost? Or the employee pays upfront but gets the payment returned if they stay for a certain length of time?
Comment 1.1.1.2 2 Oct 2009, 3:58 PM
Like most things, it all depends.... In my organisation we could be looking at checking say 10 people. We are a mostly self-funded volunteer community group, so the cost would have to be budgeted for. If the contribution was $100 per person, then that's $1000 every three years. But I have no idea what character checks would cost, so I don't know what a reasonable contribution would be. I might be offering peanuts or being quite reasonable. You tell me!
Comment 1.1.2 2 Oct 2009, 3:45 PM
I agree too. I think 5 years is probably too long. A lot can happen in that time. Less than 3 years is too short, and the overall cost will increase.
Comment 1.2 2 Oct 2009, 3:47 PM
I agree too. 5 years is too long. A lot can happen in that time. But less than 3 years is too short. The checking process will come round too quickly and the overall cost will sky rocket. 3 years is OK.