This Regulation is organised around a small number of tightly specified concepts. Each concept operates by reference to the Act; the Regulation does not create new substantive criminal offences or broad new regulatory powers on its own in the text supplied. The principal concepts are these.

Risk management strategy: defined in s 3 as "a written strategy required to be developed and implemented under section 171 or 172 of the Act". Section 4 then prescribes that the matters stated in schedule 1 are the required contents for those written risk management strategies for the purposes of the Act. The Regulation therefore functions as the checklist-maker for the Act’s risk-management-document requirement. The text supplied does not include schedule 1’s content but explicitly ties the mandatory content to schedule 1.

Responsible person: the term "responsible person, for a risk management strategy, for schedule 1" is defined by reference to schedule 1 section 1 (s 3). The Regulation does not define the role in-line; it directs readers to schedule 1. That means the legal identity and duties of the responsible person are matters set out in schedule 1 and incorporated into the Regulation by reference.

Authorised online disclosure: s 5 defines a narrow information-authorisation pathway. Two conditions must be satisfied for the chief executive to be authorised to advise whether another person’s working with children authority is in force: the request must be made via an online system; and the requester must provide the other person’s name as it appears on the working with children card and the card number. The authorisation is limited to advising whether the authority is in force at that time (the clause operates to implement s 385(4)(d) of the Act).

Fees and fee rounding: s 7 fixes schedule 2 as the place where fees payable under the Act are stated. Section 7A provides conversion and rounding rules for fees expressed as numbers of fee units, expressly invoking the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 s 48C(3). The rounding rule applies different rounding precision thresholds: up to $100 round to nearest 5 cents; $100-$1,000 round to nearest 10 cents. The section contains a concrete example showing how to round a mid-point to the higher value.

Transitional/Repeal dynamics: s 8 repeals the 2011 Regulation; s 9 preserves, for 28 days post-commencement, the status of particular functions that were listed in schedule 3 of the repealed regulation as not usual functions of employment, for the specific application mentioned (schedule 1, item 15 of the Act). The transitional clause is time‑limited and narrowly framed.

Commencement and timeline: the Regulation commenced on 31 August 2020 per s 2. There is evidence of later minor amendment activity: s 6 is omitted by an instrument in 2021 (not included in detail), and s 7A was inserted in 2022 (noted at the end of the section). The text itself includes marginal notes showing these amendment events.

Statutory cross-references: the Regulation is expressly subordinate to the Act , multiple provisions refer directly to sections of the Act (notably ss 171, 172 and 385). It also cross-references the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 for fee unit conversion rules.

Limitations in the supplied text: the schedules themselves (schedule 1 , matters for risk management strategies and the definition of responsible person; schedule 2 , fee amounts; schedule 3 of the repealed regulation) are not included in the excerpt provided. Practitioners must therefore consult the full regulation text (including schedules) and the Act to see the full operative content; the Regulation in the excerpt primarily functions to direct readers to those schedules and to set the discrete technical rules noted above.

The Regulation affects several categories of actors whose obligations or operational practices are governed by the Act and by the prescribed matters and fee rules the Regulation establishes. Identify who is affected and how by the relevant sections.

Employers, organisations and bodies required to hold or implement a risk management strategy under the Act: The Regulation prescribes the matters that must be included in a written risk management strategy (s 4). Entities subject to ss 171 and 172 of the Act who must develop and implement those strategies will therefore be bound to incorporate the matters shown in schedule 1 into their written strategies. The Regulation directs those entities to schedule 1 for the specific content, and also identifies a "responsible person" for the strategy by reference to schedule 1, section 1 (s 3). Practitioners preparing or auditing compliance documents must therefore consult schedule 1 to determine content and the identity/responsibilities of the responsible person.

Individuals who hold working with children cards and those who are subject to checks: Section 5 contemplates third parties using the chief executive’s online system to verify whether another person’s working with children authority is in force. Cardholders are affected because their card details (name-as-on-card and card number) are the two data points required for verification. The Regulation authorises disclosure of the single fact of whether an authority is in force when those two identifiers are supplied online.

Persons performing checks or credential verification: Employers, contractors and volunteers who need to confirm whether an individual’s authority is in force will be affected by s 5. The practical requirement to provide the name "as it appears on that person’s working with children card" and the card number to the chief executive’s online system dictates the data items that must be collected and retained to perform the online check. The authorised disclosure is limited to an affirmative or negative statement about whether the authority is in force; no broader personal information is authorised by the text provided.

The chief executive and agency administrators: Section 5 authorises the chief executive to advise whether or not a working with children authority is in force when the online request and identifying information are correctly supplied. Operationally this places a duty on the agency to operate or make available an online system capable of receiving those data points and responding; it also places an administrative responsibility to ensure that the response is accurate and lawful. The Regulation does not itself set out record-keeping or verification timeframes in the excerpt provided.

Fee payers and applicants: Section 7 indicates fees payable under the Act are stated in schedule 2. Fees affect applicants for cards, renewals, and other services specified in schedule 2; the Regulation sets the mechanism for translating "fee units" into dollars and how rounding is to be applied (s 7A). Anyone charged a fee expressed in fee units will be affected by the rounding rules in s 7A when converting to a dollar amount.

Entities and persons relying on the 2011 Regulation: s 8 repeals the 2011 Regulation. Section 9 supplies a narrow transitional protection for functions that the repealed regulation listed in its schedule 3 as not usual employment functions; those functions continue to have the same status for 28 days after commencement. This affects organisations and individuals whose status or obligations turned on those classifications at the time of repeal.

Regulatory advisers, auditors and compliance officers: Because the Regulation prescribes matters and references schedules for substantive content, advisers must consult the full Regulation with schedules and the Act to advise clients. The text supplied requires practitioners to be attentive to definitions located in schedule 1, fee amounts in schedule 2, and transitional classifications in the repealed regulation’s schedule 3.

What is not affected by the excerpt: The supplied text does not create, amend or repeal the Act’s substantive duties beyond prescribing matters and fee mechanics. It does not, in the excerpt, amend the Act’s enforcement or penalty scheme directly. It also does not specify the content of schedule 1 or schedule 2; those specifics are necessary to determine full operational impact.

The Regulation operates mainly by prescription and authorisation tethered to the Act. The key duties and rights that the text creates or clarifies are as follows, with the controlling sections indicated.

Duty to incorporate prescribed matters into risk management strategies: s 4 prescribes that "the matters stated in schedule 1 are prescribed for sections 171(1)(b) and 172(b) of the Act." Those Act provisions require the development and implementation of written risk management strategies; the Regulation therefore imposes a regulatory duty on covered entities to ensure their written strategies include the schedule 1 matters. The Regulation does not, in the excerpt, enumerate those matters; it assigns the contents to schedule 1.

Duty to identify a responsible person: The term "responsible person, for a risk management strategy, for schedule 1" is defined by reference to schedule 1, section 1 (s 3). Practically, the Regulation requires someone to be identified as the responsible person for the strategy in accordance with schedule 1. The identity and role are therefore determined by schedule 1; compliance requires consulting schedule 1.

Authorised disclosure right for online checks: s 5 establishes a specific right for a requester to receive from the chief executive advice on whether another person’s working with children authority is in force, provided the request is made through an online system and includes the exact name as on the card and the card number. This provision creates an operational right to a factual response from the chief executive in those circumstances. It implements s 385(4)(d) of the Act by authorising that particular response pathway. The right is conditional on the online mode and the two identifying data items.

Rights and obligations around fees: s 7 places the fees under the Act into schedule 2. The Regulation thereby fixes the mechanism for what fees will be charged by reference to that schedule. s 7A provides the rounding method for converting fee units into dollars. This imposes an obligation on the fee-charging authority to apply the specified rounding rules, and it confers on payers the right to be charged the rounded amount derived from the fee unit conversion.

Transitional continuation of status for certain functions: s 9 creates a temporary duty of legal recognition for 28 days after commencement: functions that were immediately before commencement listed in schedule 3 of the repealed regulation as functions of employment that are not usual functions of employment continue to be treated as such for the purpose identified in the section (schedule 1, item 15 of the Act). This is narrowly time‑limited but creates a continued legal status for those functions during the 28-day window.

Limits and exclusions in duties/rights within the excerpt: The Regulation, as provided, does not set out procedural timelines for the chief executive to respond to online requests, does not prescribe sanctions for failing to adopt schedule 1 matters, and does not specify fee values within this excerpt. Those details must be obtained from the Act and the full Regulation with schedules. The Regulation’s duties are therefore partially definitional/prescriptive (what must appear) and partially procedural (how to obtain an online confirmation), but enforcement mechanisms and detailed operational provisions are outside the text supplied.

The excerpt of the Regulation provided does not itself create new criminal offences nor does it specify monetary penalties or enforcement mechanisms. It operates primarily by prescription and authorisation tied into the Act. Accordingly, enforcement and penalty questions must be addressed by reference to the Act; the Regulation signals where to look but does not add independent sanctions in the supplied text. Specific points from the Regulation relevant to enforcement and administration are:

Delegation to the Act for enforcement: s 4 prescribes matters for ss 171 and 172 of the Act. Any failure to develop or implement a risk management strategy in accordance with the Act will therefore attract whatever enforcement regime (including penalties) the Act contains for non‑compliance. The Regulation itself does not set those penalties; it supplies the mandatory content that an Act-based enforcement scheme may assess.

Authorised disclosure and administrative practice: s 5 authorises the chief executive to advise whether a working with children authority is in force when the online conditions are met. The authorisation implies administrative accountability and an operational obligation to respond accurately when the request meets the condition. However, the Regulation in the excerpt does not set out administrative sanctions for incorrect online responses, nor does it prescribe record-keeping or review rights for requesters. Any remedies for errors would therefore need to be sought under the Act, administrative law principles, or agency policy, not under the Regulation text shown.

Fees and monetary consequences: s 7 places fees under the Act into schedule 2. Non-payment consequences, fee waivers, or refund rules are not specified in the excerpt; those matters will be governed by the Act, the full Regulation (including schedule 2), or agency policy. s 7A’s rounding rule affects the exact amount charged when fee units are converted to dollars; there is no penalty in the rounding rule itself, but the method is binding for calculating chargeable amounts.

Repeal and transitional legal status: s 8 repeals the 2011 Regulation. s 9 creates a 28-day transitional preservation of certain non-usual employment functions. That transitional measure could have enforcement consequences for actions taken in the 28‑day window , for example, whether a person was required to hold a working with children authority during that period. The Regulation does not, in the excerpt, provide enforcement clarifications about acts performed during that 28-day window; enforcement must be determined by reading s 9 together with the Act and the repealed regulation’s schedules.

Absence of express enforcement details: Because the Regulation excerpt neither duplicates nor amends the Act’s sanctioning regime, practitioners seeking enforcement mechanisms, penalty levels, appeal rights, or administrative review pathways must refer to the Act and to any agency policies or published procedures that implement s 5’s online checking system and s 7’s fee schedule. The Regulation’s role here is primarily to provide substantive content (schedule 1) and technical conversion rules (s 7A), not to create an enforcement architecture.

The Regulation operates as subordinate legislation to the Working with Children Act and interacts with at least one other Commonwealth (or state) interpretative statute. The key statutory cross-references and interaction points in the text supplied are these.

Working with Children Act: The Regulation is dependent upon and implements provisions of the Act. It prescribes the matters required for written risk management strategies referenced in the Act’s ss 171 and 172 (s 4). It implements an authorisation contemplated by s 385(4)(d) of the Act by authorising the chief executive to advise, via an online system where the requester supplies the name-as-on-card and card number, whether another person's working with children authority is in force (s 5). The Regulation therefore supplements the Act by specifying what must be in strategies and by clarifying an operational disclosure pathway; it does not alter the Act’s substantive duties or enforcement provisions directly in the excerpt.

Acts Interpretation Act 1954: Section 7A explicitly references the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 s 48C(3) for the purpose of rounding amounts that result from converting fee units into dollars. The Regulation prescribes precise rounding conventions that apply when converting fees expressed in fee units into currency under the interpretative provision. The interaction is mechanical: the Acts Interpretation Act supplies the conversion method for fee units, and this Regulation specifies how to round the resultant dollar figure.

Repealed Regulation (2011) and transitional effect: Section 8 repeals the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Regulation 2011. Section 9 preserves, for 28 days, the status of certain functions that were listed in schedule 3 of the repealed regulation as functions of employment that are not usual functions of employment, for the relevant application under the Act. The interaction here is temporal: the new Regulation replaces the old one, but transitional status is preserved briefly to avoid an immediate legal gap for certain classifications. Practitioners must therefore consider not only the new Regulation and the Act but also the repealed Regulation’s schedule 3 when determining legal status for that 28-day window.

Administrative law: Although not explicitly mentioned in the excerpt, s 5’s authorisation for online disclosure engages administrative decision-making by the chief executive. The operation of that online system will be subject to administrative law principles (such as accuracy, fairness, and lawful exercise of power), and any disputes about the chief executive’s responses or processes may engage remedies under administrative law, but the Regulation excerpt does not itself spell out review or appeals mechanisms.

Other subordinate instruments and agency policies: The Regulation is short and delegates substantive content to schedules. Agency implementation materials, IT systems for online checks, procedural guidelines for risk management strategies, record-keeping obligations and operational fee schedules are likely set out in administrative instruments or agency policy. The Regulation interacts with those practical instruments by setting the legal baseline (schedules + rounding + online authorisation), but the excerpt does not include or prescribe those administrative details.

Local application: The Regulation must be read in conjunction with the Act to determine geographic scope and who is covered; the Regulation’s provisions such as the online-check authorisation (s 5) and fee rules (s 7, s 7A) operate within the Act’s coverage. The supplied text does not indicate conflicts with other state or federal statutes; in any conflict, usual statutory interpretation principles and the hierarchy of legislation would apply, with the Act governing the Regulation.

The Regulation text supplied includes marginal notes and insertion notes that indicate a small amount of later amendment activity and a repeal of the prior Regulation. The explicit amendment events visible in the text are these.

Commencement: The Regulation commenced on 31 August 2020 (s 2). That is the principal operation date for its replacements and transitional arrangements.

Repeal of the 2011 Regulation: s 8 explicitly repealed the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Regulation 2011, SL No. 148. The repeal is the central structural amendment: the 2020 Regulation replaced the 2011 instrument.

Omitted section note: There is a marginal annotation "s 6 om 2021 SL No. 2 s 23" adjacent to the placeholder “Section sec.6”. That marginal note indicates that section 6 of the Regulation, or at least a provision labelled s 6, was omitted by Statutory Instrument No. 2 of 2021, s 23. The text supplied does not show the content of s 6 or the deletion; it only records the omission.

Insertion of s 7A in 2022: The heading for s 7A contains "s 7A ins 2022 SL No. 83 s 8" which indicates that the rounding provision in s 7A was inserted in 2022 by Statutory Instrument No. 83, s 8. The body of s 7A is present and provides the fee rounding rule and an illustrative example.

Transitional provision timing: s 9 creates a short-term transitional rule preserving the status of particular employment functions for 28 days after commencement. That is a transitional mechanism rather than an amendment per se, but it is part of the instrument’s temporal amendment history insofar as it mediates the change from the 2011 Regulation to the new one.

What the supplied text does not contain about amendment history: The excerpt does not provide a complete consolidated history of every amendment, nor does it include the text of schedule 1 or schedule 2, which may themselves have amendment histories. The marginal notes do indicate at least two later instrument actions (omission of s 6 in 2021; insertion of s 7A in 2022). Practitioners wanting the full chronology, the exact prior text of s 6, or the schedules’ amendment histories must consult the official consolidated instrument or the Statutory Instruments referenced.

The Regulation excerpt supplied contains no references to any litigation, cases, or judicial interpretations. It does not name any court decisions, nor does it attach judicial commentary or examples. Consequently:

• There is no litigation history recorded in the text provided.
• Any judicial interpretation of the Regulation’s provisions (for example, on the meaning of prescribed matters in schedule 1, the scope of the chief executive’s authorisation in s 5, rounding in s 7A, or the transitional effect in s 9) would need to be obtained from case law databases or court records. The Regulation excerpt does not supply such material.
• Where operational disputes arise , for example, about whether an online request met the s 5 conditions, or about whether a written risk management strategy complies with schedule 1 contents , remedies will depend on the Act’s enforcement and review provisions and any administrative law pathways. The Regulation excerpt itself is silent on available appeals or specific adjudicative processes.

Practitioners should therefore treat the absence of litigation references in this text as an instruction to review court databases and administrative review records for any decisions interpreting schedule 1, s 5 authorisation or the rounding rules, because the excerpt alone provides no judicial guidance.

The Regulation appears short and straightforward, but there are several practical traps and points of attention that arise from the text supplied. Each of these flows directly from wording or referenced schedules in the Regulation; none relies on extra-textual assumptions.

1. Core content is in schedules not included here: s 4 prescribes "the matters stated in schedule 1" for required risk management strategies, and s 3 defines the responsible person by reference to schedule 1, section 1. The Regulation excerpt does not include schedule 1. That means you cannot prepare a compliant written strategy or identify the responsible person solely from the body text in this excerpt; you must read schedule 1. Treat the body text as a signpost, not as complete guidance.

2. Fee amounts are in schedule 2 (s 7): The excerpt refers to schedule 2 for fees payable under the Act. The actual monetary amounts, what activities attract fees, or any concession/waiver rules are not visible here. Do not assume fee values. Apply s 7A rounding rules once you have the fee unit conversion number, but obtain the fee unit count from schedule 2.

3. s 5 is tightly conditional: The chief executive is authorised to advise whether a working with children authority is in force only when an online system is used and the requester supplies both the name as it appears on the person’s working with children card and that person’s card number. If either data point is missing or the request is made by telephone or in-person rather than "an online system", the regulation does not authorise that specific disclosure under s 5. Users relying on the online-check facility must collect and enter the name exactly as it appears on the card, not a common or legal variant.

4. Online vs other disclosure pathways: s 5 authorises a particular online disclosure for one factual element (in force status). It does not authorise broader disclosures or allow the chief executive to release other details or to answer similar questions made by other channels. Do not conflate s 5’s narrow authorisation with a general entitlement to personal data or cardholder information.

5. Rounding rules have thresholds and an unusual midpoint rule: s 7A requires rounding to 5 cents for results not more than $100, and to 10 cents for results over $100 but not more than $1,000. The section specifies "rounding one-half upwards" at mid-points. The illustrative example shows $35.525 rounding to $35.55, not $35.50. Practitioners must apply the correct rounding rule and be careful with half-cent mid-points.

6. Transitional protection is brief and narrow: s 9 preserves the status of functions listed in the repealed regulation’s schedule 3 as not usual functions of employment for only 28 days after commencement and only for the application specified (schedule 1, item 15 of the Act). If an organisation relies on a function being "not a usual function of employment" beyond that 28‑day window, it must reassess. The transitional rule is not a general grandfathering.

7. Omitted section(s): The marginal note marking an omission of s 6 in 2021 indicates the instrument has been modified post-commencement. The content of the omitted section is not in the excerpt. Where a historic process depended on s 6, confirm whether the omission affects current operations.

8. Absence of enforcement mechanics: The Regulation does not set out penalties in the excerpt. Enforcement must be checked in the Act. Compliance reviews should map the Regulation’s prescriptive provisions (schedule content, online-check protocol, fee calculation) into the Act’s enforcement framework.

9. Data collection requirements: Because s 5 requires the exact name "as it appears on that person’s working with children card", employers and screening organisations must ensure their data capture processes record the card name precisely. Differences in name formatting or omission of middle names could produce mismatches with the online system and therefore frustrate the authorised check.

10. Reliance on agency systems and practice: The practical ability to obtain the authorised response in s 5 depends on the chief executive operating an online system that accepts the two required identifiers and provides the in‑force answer. The Regulation authorises the response, but does not detail system design, uptime, privacy safeguards, logging or dispute resolution. Operational gaps in the system may create compliance risk for organisations that rely on the online check as their sole verification mechanism.

The Regulation prescribes a few concrete actions. Because key operative content (schedules) is not included in the excerpt provided, compliance requires consulting those schedules and the Act. Below are stepwise compliance actions grounded in the Regulation text and focused on practical implementation for employers, compliance officers, and practitioners.

1. Read schedule 1 and identify required matters and the responsible person (s 4 and s 3).

   • Action: Obtain the full Regulation text that includes schedule 1. Extract the list of matters that the Regulation prescribes for written risk management strategies and the definition/requirements for the responsible person (schedule 1, section 1).
   • Why: s 4 prescribes schedule 1 matters for ss 171 and 172 of the Act; schedule 1 also defines the "responsible person." You cannot prepare or certify a compliant strategy without these details.

2. Draft or revise written risk management strategy to include each matter in schedule 1 (s 4).

   • Action: Using the schedule 1 checklist, ensure your written strategy documents each prescribed element, assigns or identifies the responsible person as schedule 1 requires, and evidences implementation steps and dates.
   • Why: The Act requires a written strategy and the Regulation prescribes the matters it must contain. Audit trails, signatures from the responsible person, and version control will assist in demonstrating compliance.

3. Implement data capture standards for cardholder verification (s 5).

   • Action: Update application and HR records to capture the exact name as it appears on the working with children card and record the card number. Train staff who perform checks to obtain these two identifiers before attempting an online verification.
   • Why: s 5 authorises the chief executive to advise whether an authority is in force only when the online request includes these two items. Missing or inaccurately recorded data can prevent a verified response.

4. Use the chief executive’s online system for in-force checks and retain verification records (s 5).

   • Action: Where you require confirmation of a person’s in-force status, use the authorised online system and retain an evidentiary record (screenshots, system-generated receipts, timestamps) of the check and the identifiers used.
   • Why: The Regulation ties the authorised disclosure to "an online system"; retaining a record of the online check will support compliance audits, and assist in resolving disputes about whether a check occurred.

5. Check schedule 2 for fee types and amounts; apply rounding rule in s 7A when converting fee units to dollars (ss 7 and 7A).

   • Action: Obtain schedule 2 and identify applicable fees. Convert fee units to dollars under the Acts Interpretation Act process, then apply s 7A rounding: up to $100 round to nearest 5 cents (one-half upwards); over $100 up to $1,000 round to nearest 10 cents (one-half upwards).
   • Why: The Regulation places the fee schedule in schedule 2 and prescribes the precise rounding method. Applying the rounding incorrectly will produce incorrect charges and billing errors.

6. Review transitional statuses and timeframes (s 9).

   • Action: If your operations or staff classification relied on functions listed in schedule 3 of the repealed regulation as not usual functions of employment, confirm whether those functions fall within the 28-day protected window created by s 9. If they do, plan to reassess status after the 28-day window.
   • Why: s 9 preserves certain function classifications for only 28 days post-commencement. Beyond that, the new Regulation and schedules apply.

7. Ensure procedural and recordkeeping alignment with the Act’s enforcement framework.

   • Action: Cross-reference the Act’s enforcement, disclosure and compliance provisions against your policies and the Regulation’s prescriptive content. Implement internal review checkpoints to ensure that strategies, the responsible person’s role, online checks, and fee handling are demonstrably compliant.
   • Why: The Regulation supplies content obligations and procedural authorisations but not enforcement text in the excerpt. Compliance must therefore map these obligations into the Act’s enforcement and administrative processes.

8. Update training and supplier contracts.

   • Action: Train HR, volunteers coordinators and contractors on the requirement to capture the exact card name and card number for online checks. Amend supplier/contractor terms to require compliance with documented risk management strategy elements derived from schedule 1.
   • Why: Operational staff and third-party providers are the front-line actors performing checks and implementing the strategy. Embedding the requirements contractually and in training reduces compliance risk.

9. Confirm the chief executive’s online system capabilities and fallback options.

   • Action: Test the online system, confirm the response format, ascertain average response times and service availability, and document fallback verification procedures if the online system is unavailable.
   • Why: s 5 authorises the online-check disclosure. Organisations need to know how the system operates in practice and what to do when it cannot be used, to avoid gaps in screening processes.

10. Maintain a compliance calendar for amendments and review of statutory instruments.

    • Action: Monitor instruments that amend the Regulation (e.g., the 2021 omission of s 6 and the 2022 insertion of s 7A). Subscribe to legislative update services or agency notices about changes to schedule 1 or schedule 2.
    • Why: The Regulation has been amended post-commencement. Because the schedules contain operative content, amendments to them or to the regulation will directly affect compliance obligations.

These steps flow from the text of the Regulation supplied. They assume practitioners will obtain and read the full Regulation with its schedules and the relevant sections of the Act to complete the compliance picture.