Member Screening | Surf Life Saving WA

Member Screening Policy

SLSWA's Member Screening Policy has been put in place for the protection of it's members who are under the age of 18 from all forms of maltreatment while under the care and management of any Surf Life Saving member, particularly those in a leadership position.

Member screening aims to ensure that those who may pose a risk to minors are not employed in a paid or voluntary capacity in positions where children and young people might be placed at risk. Those that 'pose a risk' are people who have (and continue to) or who are likely to sexually, physically and emotionally abuse and neglect children and young people.

SLSWA is committed to the health, safety and well being of all its members and is dedicated to providing a safe environment for participating in Surf Life Saving activities. The abuse of members by other members or external sources is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.

Member Screening can be carried out in 2 ways : Working With Children Check or a Volunteer National Police Check.

SLSWA have a very easy to follow flowchart which will help you determine which check you need.

Please see the attachment below for the full SLSWA Member Screening Policy & flowchart.

SLSA also has a Member Safety & Wellbeing policy which can be found below

SLSA Member Safety & Wellbeing Policy part 1- click here

SLSA Member Safety & Wellbeing Policy part 2 - click here

SLSA Member Safety & Wellbeing Policy part 3 - click here

SLSA Grievance Policy - click here

Working With Children Checks (WWCC)

The Working with Children Check aims to increase the safety of children in our community by helping to prevent people who have a criminal history that indicates they may harm children from working with children.

Checks cost $10 for volunteers and $51.50 for paid employees. Working With Children forms should be collected from your club, completed as per the instructions and forwarded to SLSWA for signature. Once signed, SLSWA will return the WWC form to the applicatnt for submission at the post office along with your relevant forms of identification.

Ordering more WWCC forms - Club Administrators please contact Renée Scully - rscully@mybeach.com.au when ordering more WWCC.

For further information please visit WWCC - www.checkwwc.wa.gov.au or Click here

Volunteer National Police Check

The Volunteer National Police Check is designed to help organisations adequately screen volunteers working in positions of financial trust or involved in driving or other special duties who provide services to vulnerable people.

The criminal history checked in the WWCC is only relevant to their interaction with children, it is not a full check of all convictions. Some volunteers working with children also perform other duties such as driving buses, working with aged or disabled or managing money, where is it considered important for a police check to be undertaken. These volunteers may need to have a National Police Check for Volunteers in addition the to the Working with Children Check

How to Apply

Clubs request volunteers complete Part A & Part B of the application - see attachment below
Club checks volunteers Proof of Identity as outlined on the form and completes Part C.
Club sends the form to SLSWA attention to Renée Scully (SLSWA will pay the $11.30 per application)
SLSWA will then forward applications to the Police department for pocessing
Once checks are returned, SLSWA will contact clubs via letter of members who do not hav a record. Those with a record will be contacted directly by SLSWA and need to obtain a National Police Certiifcate at their own expense. Once returned finding should be discussed with the CEO of SLSWA.
Clubs are then required to update Surfguard.

For the full National Police Checks for Volunteers information pack please click here

Safe Clubs 4 Kids

Safe Clubs 4 Kids received a Highly Commended Award at the 2010 ICCWA Community Safety Awards & the 2012 Constable Care Child Safety Award.

Safe Club 4 Kids is a presentation and education program for clubs and community groups that covers issues of child abuse, paedophilia and member protection.

After attending a presentation, members and Community groups will:

Have a better understanding of the different types of child abuse.
Understand how to receive a report of child abuse from a child or an adult.
Understand how to report the incident to the Police or to a club Reporting Officer.
Understand National and State policies regarding Member Protection.
Understand responsibilities as an adult.

Safe Club 4 Kids is about doing what is required to protect our children and taking the steps to protect ourselves against false allegations. Safe Club 4 Kids is also about protecting our organization by implementing policies and procedures and best practice models to provide a safe and healthy environment for all members.

SLSWA have now also partnered with DSR, WASF, WA Police Child Protection Unit and the Working With Children's Unit have developed this program for external sporting organisations. . The feedback from participating sports has been extremely positive and has given them great assistance in providing a fun and safe environment for their junior members.

Click here for a copy of the Safe Clubs 4 Kids manual.

For more information on any of the above topics please contact Renée Scully on rscully@mybeach.com.au or call 9207 6666 during business hours.

Attachment	Size
National Volunteer Police Check Form.pdf	476.84 KB
Member Screening Policy.pdf	647.15 KB