The NSW Working with Children Check in junior basketball

What the Check is and who runs it

In NSW, anyone doing paid or volunteer child-related work needs a Working with Children Check, or WWCC. The Office of the Children's Guardian (OCG) manages it, and Service NSW handles the in person identity step. Service NSW says the Check combines a National Police Check with a review of reportable workplace misconduct, and ends in one of two outcomes: a clearance, or a bar on working with children.

According to the OCG, the screening looks at a person's national criminal history, including spent and unspent convictions, juvenile records, and charges even where they were dismissed or have not been heard, plus findings of misconduct that organisations have notified under the Reportable Conduct Scheme. A criminal record does not automatically mean a bar. Some records lead to an automatic bar and others go to a risk assessment.

A clearance lasts five years, and the holder is continuously monitored during that time. The OCG says the Check lasts its five years even if the holder moves jobs, and that a new worker or volunteer who already has one does not need another. There is no card or certificate. The OCG describes the NSW Check as an online system, and the email a person receives when cleared contains their WWCC number.

You must be in NSW to apply, because identity documents are checked in person at a Service NSW Centre. A Check can be renewed up to three months before it expires, and the OCG says some people renewing may be able to do it online using face verification instead of visiting a centre.

Who needs one at basketball

The OCG defines child-related work, paid or voluntary, as providing services to under 18s where the work usually means being face to face with children and the contact is more than incidental. Its examples of people who need a Check include extracurricular coaches and instructors, anyone volunteering with children who are not their close relatives, anyone providing transport for children, and anyone working or volunteering at an overnight camp for children.

The OCG's table of examples does not name basketball roles, and it says the table should only be used as a general guide, so ask your association which of its roles it treats as child-related. The OCG also says the head of an organisation covered by the Child Safe Scheme needs a Check, which it says generally means the most senior person, such as a chief executive officer.

People under 18 do not need a Check, and Service NSW says you must be 18 or over to apply.

Interstate visitors working with children in NSW for fewer than 30 days do not need a NSW Check. The OCG says that under its legislation a person can start child-related work once they hold an application (APP) number, although some employers require a full clearance before paid work begins.

Parents, close relatives and the exemption

The OCG says a parent or close relative can volunteer without a Check for a team, program or activity their own child usually takes part in. It lists three situations where a parent or close relative still needs one: an overnight camp, a formal mentoring program, and intimate personal care of a child with disability.

The OCG pages we read do not go further than that wording. They describe the exemption in terms of volunteering, and in terms of your own child's usual team or activity. Separately, the OCG lists volunteering with children who are not close relatives among the roles that need a Check, and names paid sport coaches among the workers parents should verify. If you are asked to help a team your child is not in, or to be paid for coaching, ask the association or the OCG whether you need a Check before you start.

Basketball NSW sets its own requirement for representative basketball. Rule 32.2 of its 2027 Waratah Junior League Rules of Operation, dated as at 21 September 2026, requires every adult coach, assistant coach and team manager, along with any other adult team staff and officials, to hold a current Check that has been verified the way Basketball NSW requires. The rule sits in the part on registering coaches and team officials, and it makes no exception for parents. Rule 2 describes the Waratah Junior Leagues as representative competitions for Basketball NSW's affiliated associations and ACT associations. On that wording, a parent who coaches or manages a 2027 Waratah team needs a verified Check, even where the OCG's exemption would cover them for their own child's team.

Basketball NSW's Child Safety and Basketball page adds that head and assistant coaches in its representative programs must be accredited, hold a valid Check and be registered with their local association. For local domestic competitions we could not find a statewide Basketball NSW rule on parent helpers, so ask your association what it requires of parent coaches and managers in its own competitions.

Cost, timing and the APP number

Service NSW's application page (last published 1 July 2026) and the OCG's WWCC questions page (last updated 8 October 2026) both put the fee at $112 for paid workers, with no charge for volunteers. The OCG says the fee is non-refundable, including when someone selects paid by mistake. Service NSW also lists a separate transaction for upgrading a Check from volunteer to paid.

The steps are short. Complete the online application, then take your original identity documents to a Service NSW Centre, and pay there if you are a paid worker. Service NSW asks for four proof of identity documents, at least one showing your signature and photo, and says the National Police Check can take up to four weeks.

Organisations verify a new worker or volunteer online, first using the application (APP) number and then the clearance number once it is issued. Because the police check alone can take up to four weeks, a parent who has agreed to manage a rep team is better off applying well before the season than in the week of the first game.

Referees and other officials

The OCG's examples list referees, umpires, linespeople and other sporting officials as not needing a Check where the job does not involve long stretches with children and no other adults around. That example only covers officials whose work fits that description, so the answer depends on what a particular role involves.

Basketball NSW's 2027 Waratah Junior League rules mention the Check only in rule 32.2, in the part on coaches and team officials. The part of the rules on referees and other technical officials does not mention it, and we did not find a Basketball NSW document stating whether adult referees must hold a Check. If it matters to you, ask your association. Referees under 18 fall under the general exemption for under 18s.

How to check a coach's Check

For coaches and team managers in an association team, the OCG puts verification on the organisation. It says any organisation whose people work or volunteer to provide services to children counts as an employer, and must register as a child-related employer, decide which roles need a Check, verify clearances and renewals online, and keep records. The person who does the verifying must have their own Check, if they need one, verified by someone else in the organisation. Basketball NSW notes that in many associations the MPIO, the Member Protection Information Officer, manages this.

Two points are worth knowing. First, Basketball NSW coach accreditation is not proof of a Check: Basketball NSW says a Check can only be verified through the Office of the Children's Guardian. Second, in August 2026 the Children's Guardian said failing to verify clearances online was a common problem. Asking your association who verifies Checks, and when, is a fair question.

For a private coach your family hires directly, the OCG puts the check on you. It says parents need to check the WWC or APP number of any self-employed or independent worker before that person starts, and lists paid sport coaches as an example. Use the OCG's online verify form, which it says is only for parents verifying someone working with their child, and enter the coach's name, date of birth and WWC or APP number. The coach must give you those details. Parents can also verify WWCC details in the Service NSW app.

The OCG says to hire only someone whose status shows as Cleared or Application in progress, and never someone who is barred, interim barred or not found. Keep a note of the expiry date and verify again if they are still coaching your child when it expires. Basketball NSW also tells parents to be wary of one on one sessions in a private setting, encourages a parent to attend if they agree to them and asks that the session be supervised at all times, and says its insurance program does not cover extra coaching that parents arrange.

If you believe someone is working with children without a Check, or a barred person is still working, the OCG takes those reports through the form on its How parents can raise a concern page. Liddicoat Basketball is not a reporting body and does not take reports.