Applicable to: Club & Association Administrators

This article will cover the following:

1. What PlaySafe is and how it benefits your organisation
2. How PlaySafe verifies Working with Children Checks (WWCC)
3. Understanding Child Safety statuses and their impact
4. Administrator access and capabilities
5. Managing participant eligibility

Related articles:

• Participants: How to provide your WWCC details in PlayHQ

Overview

PlaySafe is an automated child safeguarding solution that verifies Working with Children Checks (WWCC) in real-time and provides continuous monitoring for coaches, team managers, and other participants in positions of trust. Developed in partnership with Oho, PlaySafe eliminates manual WWCC checking while enhancing child protection across your organisation.

PlaySafe is automatically embedded within the PlayHQ registration process with no additional setup required. The system handles verification, monitoring, and status updates automatically.

⚠️ This has been enabled for select sports at this stage. If your sport uses PlayHQ's PlaySafe system to automatically validate your WWCC, you can perform a lite validation check of your WWCC details entered in registration and in your profile. Contact your sport's governing body if you would like to find out more.

How PlaySafe works

Automated verification process

When participants register for select positions of trust, as determined by your sport's governing body:

During Registration

1. Participants provide their WWCC details (number, expiry date, state)
2. PlaySafe instantly validates this information against government databases connected with Oho
3. Validation results determine the participant's eligibility status - until marked "Valid", participant registrations to positions of trust will remain in a pending state

Ongoing Monitoring

1. PlaySafe conducts weekly re-checks of all WWCCs, or batch checks in relevant states/territories
2. System automatically detects revocations, suspensions, or expiring credentials
3. Participant's Child Safety status updates automatically based on monitoring results

Understanding Child Safety status types

PlaySafe uses specific status indicators to show WWCC compliance:

• VALID - WWCC has been verified successfully
• PENDING - WWCC is awaiting validation or has discrepancies
• EXPIRED - WWCC has expired and needs renewal
• EXPIRING SOON - WWCC will expire within 6 weeks
• U18 - NOT REQUIRED - Participant is under 18 and exempt from WWCC requirements

⚠️ Important: Participants with "Pending" registration status cannot be allocated to teams or gamesheets until their WWCC is validated.

Status changes are reflected in real-time within a participant's profile, both in the public and admin portal.

If the Status column is blank or no status exists, this means your sport doesn't currently use PlayHQ's PlaySafe system to automatically validate WWCCs.

Administrators: Managing Participant Eligibility

Viewing a participant's Child Safety status

Access in Participant Profiles

1. Navigate to Participants in the Admin Portal
2. Search for and select the participant you wish to view
3. Find the Child Safety section showing the participant's current status

Registration tiles and participant list

• Registration tiles show eligibility indicators - for example, a Coach with a Child Safety status of "Pending" on registration will also have a "Pending" registration status
• Filter on registration status in the participant view of a competition season

What Administrators can (and cannot) do

Club/Association Administrators can:

• View Child Safety status for your participants
• Access eligibility reporting for your organisation
• See registration status and eligibility indicators
• Guide participants on how to update incorrect WWCC information in their profiles

Club/Association Administrators cannot:

• Override the registration status for participants who do not yet have a "Valid" Child Safety status but require this
• Modify a participant's Child Safety status or details
• Access Child Safety statuses for participants outside your organisation

⚠️ Important: If you or a participant have a Child Safety status which you believe is incorrect, please contact your sport's governing body for guidance on how to proceed.

Handling common scenarios

Participant cannot be added to a team

1. Check their registration status in their profile
2. If "Pending", check their Child Safety status
3. Where a teachers exemption has been submitted, this will be validated by Oho automatically
4. Ask the participant to review and update their WWCC number, expiry date, or listed card name within their profile if different from their registered profile name in PlayHQ
5. Ask the participant to contact your sport's governing body if unsure how to proceed

Participant claims exemption

1. Registered teachers should select "Yes, I'm a Registered Teacher" as the exemption reason during registration
2. The system validates teacher registrations through Oho
3. Other exemptions require sport's governing body verification (note: in Basketball Victoria, no manual verification of exemptions is required)
4. Under-18 participants are automatically exempted, and have the ability to add their WWCC details once they turn 18 years old and if they require one

⚠️ Important: State-specific exemptions beyond teacher registration may exist. PlayHQ regularly updates supported exemption types based on regulatory requirements. For current information on exemptions in your state, please contact your sport's governing body.

WWCC about to expire

1. PlaySafe automatically flags WWCCs expiring within 6 weeks
2. Depending on their local authority, participants may receive notification to renew their WWCC
3. Administrators can view "EXPIRING SOON" status in reports
4. Participants remain eligible until actual expiry date

Frequently asked questions

We previously checked WWCCs manually. What's changed with PlaySafe? PlaySafe eliminates manual verification, physical card storage, and once-off compliance checks. The system handles initial validation and ongoing monitoring automatically, creating a continuous compliance process with less administrative burden.

What's the difference between Child Safety status and Registration status? Child Safety status refers specifically to WWCC validation results, while Registration status determines overall eligibility to participate. On registration to select positions of trust (e.g. in Basketball Victoria - that includes Coaches and Team Managers) a participant's registration status will be "Pending" if their WWCC hasn't been validated, preventing allocation to a team or gamesheet until resolved.

Can we override a participant's Child Safety status if they're having problems? No, club and association administrators cannot override Child Safety status. This restriction ensures proper governance of safeguarding requirements. Contact your sport's governing body if legitimate issues arise with a participant's WWCC validation.

How long does WWCC validation take? Most validations process within minutes, though some states (ACT/NSW) use batch processing which may take longer. If there are discrepancies between the WWCC details and the participant's registration information, validation may be delayed until resolved.

How are exemptions handled in PlaySafe? Exemptions are managed through the registration process or within a participant's profile, and the exact process may differ between sports:

• Participants select their exemption reason during registration or when updating WWCC details in their profile
• The system validates exemptions where possible via Oho (e.g. registered teacher status)
• Other exemptions are flagged for manual verification by administrators (note: in Basketball Victoria, no manual verification of exemptions is required)
• Reports identify exemptions requiring verification

What happens if a participant's WWCC expires mid-season? The system automatically changes their Child Safety status to "EXPIRED". Participants who do not hold a valid WWCC are considered ineligible to participate until they renew their WWCC and update their PlayHQ profile with the new details.

Do all participants need to provide WWCC details? Only participants in positions of trust, selected by your Only participants in positions of trust, selected by your sport's governing body, and who are 18 years or older need valid WWCCs. Participants under 18 are automatically marked as "U18 - NOT REQUIRED" and remain eligible. However, participants under 18 can add their WWCC credentials against their profile outside of registration, to be included in PlaySafe's automatic verification checks. Check with your State/Territory authority to understand requirements in your jurisdiction.

I'm a registered Police Officer - do I still need to provide WWCC details?
Yes. While police officers are typically exempt from WWCC requirements, we require all police officers to apply for a WWCC because we cannot independently verify police badge numbers. This ensures consistent verification processes for all applicants.