Summary: From 19 October 2026, Victorian churches have two new Working with Children (WWC) Check requirements: linking workers and volunteers to your church in WWC Connect, and the government's WWC Child Safety Training for anyone applying for or renewing a clearance. Your Safe Ministry Check (SMC) training and screening don't change, and we still verify Victorian WWC Clearances.
Who does what
WWC Connect: church admins link each worker and volunteer to your church in the Victorian Government portal. Not done in SMC at this stage; we're looking at ways to integrate or automate this.
WWC Child Safety Training: completed by the person applying for or renewing their clearance, as part of their application. Not done in SMC.
SMC screening: we verify each person's Victorian WWC Clearance automatically. No change.
SMC training: safe ministry training built for your church. No change.
Change 1: WWC Connect
Before someone starts child-related work at your church, you'll need to:
Check: confirm they hold a valid WWC Clearance or relevant exemption, using the Government's WWC status checker.
Connect: link them to your church in WWC Connect.
Record: keep a record showing you did both.
Maintain: update the connection when they start, stop, or their details change.
Deadlines
Volunteers: connect them within 21 days of engaging them.
Paid staff: connect them within 7 days of engaging them.
"Engaging" means the day they first do child-related work for you, or the day you agree they will (in writing or verbally).
Your current team
Connecting people who were already serving before 19 October is strongly encouraged but not required. If their details change after 19 October, you must update them in WWC Connect.
Records to keep
Keep these for at least 7 years after someone stops child-related work:
name, address, email and phone
proof you checked their clearance
the dates they started and stopped
any changes to their contact details
If a clearance changes
The Social Services Regulator will email you if a connected person's clearance is suspended, barred, revoked or expires. You won't be told why. Stop them doing child-related work straight away and update WWC Connect.
Change 2: WWC Child Safety Training
Anyone applying for a new WWC Clearance, renewing one, or moving from a volunteer to an employee clearance must complete the Government's WWC Child Safety Training before their application is finalised.
Tip: Renewals will take a little longer. If someone's clearance expires in the next few months, encourage them to start early.
Will volunteers now do two lots of training?
We don't yet know how much the two courses overlap. We haven't been able to review the full government course, and we'll let you know how they compare once we have. They do different jobs:
Government course: built for anyone with a Victorian WWC Clearance. Covers everyone's role in keeping children safe, respectful behaviour, recognising concerning behaviour and grooming, and responding to concerns. It can't tell people who to report to at your church.
SMC training: built for your church. Covers recognising and responding to concerns in church life, including your Safe Ministry Contacts and your church's process.
Neither replaces the other.
Avoiding repeat training
SMC's Recognise Previous Training feature lets trainees indicate training they've already completed elsewhere and the modules it covered. They can skip what they've done and still complete the parts specific to your church.
Our advice for now: keep your normal SMC training requirements, and allow for the government course when someone applies for or renews their clearance.
Your 5-step checklist
Keep using SMC for training and screening as normal (admin, ongoing).
Check every Victorian worker and volunteer has a current WWC Clearance or exemption. Your SMC dashboard shows this (admin).
Get set up in WWC Connect and plan when you'll connect your current team (admin, when the portal opens).
Tell the people who handle safe ministry and recruitment at your church (pastor or admin).
Tell anyone applying or renewing about the new training (ministry team leaders, ongoing).
Questions
Do I do WWC Connect through Safe Ministry Check?
No. It's a Victorian Government requirement, done in the government portal.
Does SMC still check Victorian WWC Clearances?
Yes. Nothing changes there.
If a volunteer renews, does our church's link carry over?
The Government hasn't said yet. The safe approach is to connect them in WWC Connect yourself.
Does SMC's check replace the Government's WWC status checker?
No. The Government asks churches to use its status checker before engaging someone, so do both.
Does the government course replace SMC training?
No. The Government says it adds to a church's own training.
Who do I ask if I'm not sure something applies to us?
The Victorian Social Services Regulator runs the WWC Check and WWC Connect: