But I don’t work with children!!

If you are involved in serving in a role in your congregation, you will have been asked to obtain a Working with Children Check (in Victoria) or a Working with Vulnerable People Check (in Tasmania).

You might not understand why this is so, especially if your role is not with children or young people, or those you recognise as being particularly vulnerable.

In the Lutheran Church, before a person is appointed to a role*, we want to ensure that they are suitable and so we will conduct some background screening. This includes obtaining referees and having an intentional conversation with the person to confirm that they understand the role and can manage it. We will provide some training to inform and equip the person for their role.

Obtaining a WWCC is another component of background screening. The WWCC while established primarily for use in services to children, can also be used more widely in most states and territories, and organisations are permitted, and encouraged to do this. WWCCs of some sorts are in place in all states and territories in Australia.

Thus, in the LCANZ, we use WWCC type checks as part of a range of practices which help us meet our duty of care to provide safe ministries.

So…. if you are in a role* in your congregation and don’t have a WWCC, please apply for one as soon as possible.

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Extra notes for congregations:

* Within the LCANZ, the following persons must hold a current working with children type check:

• pastor on the roll of pastors (including emeritus in active service)
• Safe Church Coordinator, ministry leader (e.g. Sunday school superintendent)
• chaplain/elder/pastoral assistant
• person (paid or volunteer) who directly engages with children, young people, or vulnerable persons as part of their ministry/position.
• employee and volunteer, where and as specified in their position description.
• board member/council member/committee member/district or General Synod delegate.

While WWCCs/WWVPs have been in use for many years now and are a crucial part of our appointment process in the LCANZ, it is important to recognise they are not failsafe, and indeed, they are limited to only identifying known perpetrators. Over-reliance on WWCCs without other background screening mechanisms is a dangerous practice. Rather, the use of WWCCs needs to be coupled with other protective measures to maintain safety in our ministries.

There are very specific requirements around the correct administration of WWCCs which are not always understood or applied well by congregations.

• each congregation must appoint a person to have oversight of WWCCs (usually the Safe Church Coordinator). This includes keeping accurate, up-to-date, and secure records, checking congregational compliance, issuing reminders where required, and providing regular updates to Church Council.
• The organisational details of both the congregation and the Victoria-Tasmania District must be added to every WWCC.

Information and support are available from the District Professional Standards Officer, Denise.