Safeguarding for volunteers and external service providers

Visitor training requirements

Some external workers may not need to complete the safeguarding training. This is the case if you only have incidental contact with children and young people. These workers include:

• Guest presenters
• Contractors, such as tradespeople
• Department of Health/Tasmanian Health Service Staff
• Fire Education staff
• Photographers for annual school photos
• Lifeguards

Managers are to use their discretion by putting risk strategies in place. This may include full supervision by a DECYP employee. If full supervision is not practical or possible, the worker will need to complete the training video.

Emergency Service Workers from the Tasmanian Police or the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management who attend a DECYP site in an emergency are excluded from the safeguarding training. These workers do not need to be fully supervised while on site. Other workers, such as TasWater, are also exempt if they are undertaking statutory duties at a DECYP site.

Parents/Caregivers

Parents/caregivers do not need to complete the training if they:

• attend a DECYP site with their own children, or
• take part in DECYP events to support and/or work only with their children.

For example, if a parent attends a library with their child as a parent/carer, and not as a volunteer. In this case, you do not need to complete the training. If a parent/carer is volunteering in any capacity, they must complete the training.

Do external organisations that schools visit on excursions need to complete the training?

No. External organisations do not need to complete the safeguarding training to host excursions. DECYP groups on excursions may include:

• School groups
• Launch into Learning (LiL)
• Early Childhood Inclusion Services (ECIS)
• Child and Family Learning Centres (CFLCs)

All DECYP employees and volunteers helping with excursions must complete the training and hold a current Tasmanian Registration to Work with Vulnerable People (RWVP).

Parents/caregivers participating in CFLC, LiL or ECIS excursions/events with their own children do not need to complete the training.

Refer to the Off-Campus Activities Planning Procedure for further information. 

Do bus drivers need to complete the training?

Yes, if they are bus drivers contracted by DECYP (such as a school or CFLC), or if the bus is owned by DECYP.

For other types of bus drivers – this will be decided during the excursion risk assessment. For example:

• If an excursion is fully supervised by a DECYP employee, and the driver is not with children on their own, they would not need to complete the training.
• If it’s a longer trip, and the driver has more opportunities to interact with the children, they would need to complete the training.

Do canteen volunteers need to complete the training?

Yes. All DECYP volunteers, including canteen volunteers, must complete the training and hold a current Tasmanian Registration to Work with Vulnerable People (RWVP). This must be completed before they engage with children and young people.

Do external work placement students need to complete the training?

Yes. Work placement students 18 years or over are required to complete the Safeguarding Training. Work placement students might be studying:

• Education
• Social work
• Psychology
• Speech pathology
• They may also be doing placement with DECYP

If they are studying with the University of Tasmania, they will complete the training at the start of the year. This is part of the compliance requirements for professional experience placements.

Do sporting organisations need to complete the training?

Yes. If a sporting organisation is visiting a DECYP site, they must complete the training and hold a current Tasmanian Registration to Work with Vulnerable People (RWVP). This might be the case for a Physical Education lesson at a school, for example.

If children and young people are visiting a sporting organisation, workers do not have to do the training. Instead, DECYP workers arranging the visit must follow DECYP’s Off-Campus Activities Planning Procedure.

Do people that visit DECYP sites to present to a group need to complete the training?

No. Individuals presenting to students, children and families are not required to complete the training. This may be the case when individuals present on behalf of an organisation at a school assembly.

These visitors to DECYP sites require supervision by DECYP employees.

If you need technical support, see the Go1 Troubleshooting Guide for more information.

Technical support might include:

• Resetting passwords,
• Trouble accessing certificates,
• Glitches in the training.

If you still need assistance, and for all other enquiries, contact safeguarding@decyp.tas.gov.au.