There has been increasing concern in the community regarding people in
positions of trust abusing or misusing that trust to harm those in their
care or for whom they are responsible in some way. The sexual, emotional and
physical abuse and neglect of children (that is, people under the age of 18)
and vulnerable adults is of particular concern. In response to these
concerns, the Children’s Protection Act (SA) and similar Acts across
Australia have been revised and strengthened and this legislation requires
organisations who provide services to children or vulnerable adults to
establish policies and procedures which ensure a safe environment. As a
result, many health care venues and all education venues (schools) are
addressing this by policies which include police checks for students prior
to being accepted by the placement venue for field/clinical placement.
To comply with the requirements of placement venues, all students of the
three Schools in the Division of Health Sciences who attend placements where
there will be, or may be, children or vulnerable adults are required to have
a police check once every three years. While the University's requirement is
for a check once every three years, some venues may require a more recent
check. Details regarding the currency of a police check for a specific
placement venue are normally available via the SONIA placement system or can
be checked with your field placement/clinical placement school staff. Note
that the University does not require you to obtain a police check as a
condition of enrolment.
Students from other Divisions who enrol in Division of Health Sciences
courses where a clinical or field placement is a requirement are required to
have a police check. If in doubt, please contact the Clinical Placement
Unit on 8302 2214.
Students who do not obtain a police check will be precluded from attending
their field/clinical placement. Note that the process of obtaining a
National Police Check may take some time and therefore apply as early as you
can before your placement is due.
The new Registration Acts for Occupational Therapy and Podiatry require police clearance as part of the registration process. It is understood by the University that registrants are given the option of either obtaining a National Police Certificate, or giving the Board the authority to do a criminal history check. Occupational Therapy and Podiatry students may present their student registration to the University as evidence of a police clearance. However, note that some placement venues, particularly those interstate, may require that a National Police Certificate be presented to them, and you should take this into account when electing how your police clearance is done.
Additional requirements of aged care organisations as a result of Department of Health and Ageing compliance standards: People who have lived in a country other than Australia for any period of time after the age of 16 must provide a statutory declaration stating they were not convicted of murder or sexual assault, and not convicted of and imprisoned for any other form of assault during their time living overseas. Any such criminal record would exclude the person from working within, or being placed within, an aged care service if they have unsupervised access to care recipients. In addition to the statutory declaration (which a Justice of the Peace can assist with) the person must also have a police check to cover the time (after age 16) that they have lived in Australia.
1. You will need to complete the application form, by accessing one of the
following links, as per the State that you reside in:
| ACT | SA |
| NSW | TAS |
| NT | VIC |
| QLD | WA |
2. Once you receive your NPC
you will need to either:
a. present the original NPC and a photocopy of it, with a completed and
signed
Consent
& Authority to Release Police Check Form to the authorised
officer in the Clinical Placement Unit or
b. send a *certified copy of the NPC, with a completed and signed
Consent
& Authority to Release Police Check Form to the authorised officer
in the Clinical Placement Unit. (*A certified copy is a copy which either a
solicitor, JP or police officer has marked as a true and accurate
representation of the original, which they have sighted. Information
about sourcing a
Justice of the Peace (JP) or at
UniSA.
3. The
Consent & Authority to Release Police Check Form gives consent for
the University to disclose the information on the NPC to the host
clinical placement provider or the Education Reference Group (if you
are going to a school setting).
4. If no offence is listed on your NPC, you are able to commence your
clinical placement.
5. If an offence is listed on your NPC the University will contact the host clinical placement provider.
The placement provider will make a decision on whether
you can undertake the field placement with the organisation. UniSA is not
involved in assessing the risk disclosed on the NPC or approving the
placement.
Once the result of the assessment is received by the University, you
will be contacted regarding whether the placement provider has given its approval for you to commence your
clinical placement. Being cleared by one healthcare placement venue does not
automatically clear you for another and you must present your NPC for
assessment for any new placement.
6. Record keeping: It is important that you retain the original of
your NPC for your own records. The Clinical Placement Unit will retain the
Consent & Authority to Release form. If an offence is disclosed on your NPC, the copy
of the NPC cannot be held by us for longer than 6 months, after which it
will be destroyed. Your details will also be recorded on the SONIA database
confirming that you have submitted an NPC, and been Cleared or Not Cleared,
as the case may be.
7. Duration of currency for the NPC: this depends on the policy of
the organisation where you are going for placement. Your clinical/field
placement administrator may have further information (and check the SONIA
information for that site, if available).
The following link provides you with a guidelines for the Placement Process pertaining to National Police Clearance: http://www.unisa.edu.au/nur/programs/bnursing/pdf/police_clearance.pdf
All International students are required to have a National Police Check conducted in Australia, please follow the procedure outlined above.
If you are precluded by a placement organisation because of a disclosed risk on your NPC, most venues have an appeal mechanism. You should contact your Program Director if you are refused access to a venue. If you believe that you have been unreasonably disadvantaged by the requirement for a police check, or by any part of the process or outcome, please put your concerns in writing to:
Director: Student and Academic Services
University of South Australia
GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001
It is important that your National Police Certificate (NPC) is viewed by a staff member authorised to receive it.
If you are posting your certified copy of you NPC, please send to:
Ms Fay Hanns
Manager: Clinical Placement Unit
University of South Australia, Division of Health Sciences
City East Campus
GPO Box 2471
Adelaide SA 5001
If you are presenting the NPC in person, all staff of the Clinical Placement Unit are authorised to view it. The Clinical Placement Unit is located in:
Room C4-41
Centenary Building
City East Campus
Enquiries: 8302 2214
or
extension 22214 if calling from within the University