Analysis of Employment Advertisements Requiring Working With Children Checks in Queensland, Australia

Working with Children checks in Australia are regulated by legislation and designed to be used as pre-employment criminal history screening for child-related roles and organisations. Most Australian universities require prospective social work students to hold Working with Children clearance as a precondition to enrolment. Little is known about the reasoning for such application, and this Queensland study aims to contribute to resolving this question, by examining the frequency by which nonregulated jobs advertised online require a Working with Children check (a Blue Card in Queensland). Of the 400 job advertisements analysed, just over half of the nonregulated roles did not require a Blue Card. This suggests it is likely that there are field placements available to students without Working with Children clearance. If Blue Cards are not required to secure field placements for students, then applying a blanket requirement for Working with Children checks prior to enrolment in a social work course is unnecessary and may be discriminatory. IMPLICATIONS Criminal history and associated screening methods, such as Working with Children clearances, should only be used when justified, and to utilise such screening requirements when not required may be discriminatory and unfair. This analysis of the job market suggests that requiring Working with Children checks as a precondition to studying social work is not justified on the grounds that there will be limited placement opportunities, or subsequent jobs, for ineligible students. Some form of gatekeeping to the social work profession is required to protect vulnerable service users, but unnecessarily restricting access to education for prospective students with criminal histories has implications for service users who might benefit from access to social workers with lived experience.