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 Child Safeguarding Checks 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 checking while enhancing child protection across your organisation.

In Australia, a Child Safeguarding Check may be called a Working with Children Check (WWCC), Working with Vulnerable People check (WWVP), Blue Card or similar, depending on the state or territory. Throughout this article we use "WWCC" to refer to any of these state-based checks.

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

⚠️ PlaySafe has been enabled for select sports at this stage. Contact your sport's governing body if you would like to find out whether PlaySafe applies to your competitions.

How PlaySafe works

Automated verification process

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

During registration:

• Participants provide their WWCC details (name, card number, expiry date, state)
• PlaySafe submits this information to Oho for validation against government databases
• Validation results determine the participant's eligibility status. Where a competition has eligibility blocking enabled, registrations for positions of trust remain in a Pending state until the Child Safety status returns VALID.

Ongoing monitoring:

• PlaySafe conducts weekly re-checks of all WWCCs (or batch checks in relevant states/territories)
• The system automatically detects revocations, suspensions or expiring credentials
• The participant's Child Safety status updates automatically based on monitoring results
• Expiring and expired WWCCs are surfaced as actionable tasks in your Task List, so you can follow up with affected participants directly

Automated participant notifications:

Participants receive automated emails when their status changes to one that requires action (for example IN PROGRESS with a discrepancy, or INVALID). Emails include the reason from the state register and a direct link to the section of the participant's profile they need to update. This significantly reduces the manual outreach admins used to have to do.

Understanding Child Safety status types

PlaySafe uses the following status indicators:

⚠️ Important: Where eligibility blocking is enabled for a competition, participants with a Pending registration status cannot be allocated to teams or game sheets until their Child Safety status is VALID.

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 IN PROGRESS or INVALID on registration will have a Pending registration status where eligibility blocking is in effect.
• You can filter on registration status in the participant view of a competition season.

Child Safety Dashboard

The Child Safety Dashboard gives you an organisation-wide view of Child Safety status across your participants, with filters and exports to help you monitor compliance and prioritise outreach.

Task List

Expiring and expired WWCCs are surfaced as actionable tasks in your Task List. Tasks link directly to the affected participant's profile, and dismiss automatically once the participant updates their details or the WWCC is renewed.

Eligibility blocking is per-competition

Eligibility blocking (where a Pending Child Safety status prevents a participant from being allocated to teams or gamesheets) is configured per competition, not per sport. This means the same sport may have PlaySafe verification running across all competitions but eligibility blocking only enabled on a subset. Your sport's governing body can advise which of your competitions have eligibility blocking enabled.

What Administrators can (and cannot) do

Club/Association Administrators can:

• View Child Safety status for participants in their organisation
• Access the Child Safety Dashboard for their organisation
• See registration status and eligibility indicators
• View and action Task List items for expiring or expired WWCCs
• Guide participants on how to update incorrect WWCC information in their profiles

Club/Association Administrators cannot:

• Override the registration status for participants without a VALID Child Safety status
• Modify a participant's Child Safety status or details
• Access Child Safety statuses for participants outside their organisation

⚠️ Important: If you believe a participant's Child Safety status is incorrect, or the participant qualifies for an exemption that isn't being handled automatically, please contact your sport's governing body. Governing body administrators can apply manual overrides where appropriate.

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. The participant will have already received an automated email explaining what to update. You can reinforce this by asking them to review and update their WWCC number, expiry date, or name (matching exactly what appears on their card) within their profile.
4. If they've done that and their status is still IN PROGRESS or INVALID, ask them to contact your sport's governing body, who can investigate and override where legitimate.

Participant claims an exemption

• Registered teachers should select "Yes, I'm a Registered Teacher" as the exemption reason during registration. The system validates practising VIT (or state equivalent) registrations automatically.
• Non-practising teacher registrations do not auto-validate. These participants should contact your sport's governing body to arrange a manual override.
• Other exemptions require your sport's governing body to verify.
• Under-18 participants are automatically exempted (UNDERAGE) and can add their WWCC details once they turn 18, if required.

⚠️ 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

• PlaySafe automatically flags WWCCs expiring within 3 months (EXPIRING SOON status).
• Expiring and expired WWCCs also appear as tasks in your Task List for direct follow-up.
• Participants receive automated notifications from PlayHQ, and depending on their state authority may also receive notifications from the register itself.
• Participants remain eligible until the actual expiry date.

Participant's status is stuck in IN PROGRESS

If a participant's details look correct but their status remains IN PROGRESS beyond normal processing time:

• Name mismatch: Middle-name matching has been relaxed, so common variations should now resolve automatically. If a first or last name still differs from the card, ask the participant to update their profile.
• Multiple cards on Oho profile: A participant may have more than one card recorded with Oho (for example an old card plus a new one). Contact your sport's governing body, who can deactivate the old card in the Oho Dashboard so the current card can validate.
• Interstate WWCC: If the participant provided a WWCC from a different state to the one required by your organisation, contact your sport's governing body.

"New card number available"

Where Oho reports that a participant has a valid current card plus a newer replacement card that isn't yet active, PlaySafe treats the current valid card as VALID. No admin action is required. The participant's status will re-evaluate when the current card reaches its expiry date or the replacement becomes active.

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. Automated participant notifications, Task List integration for expiring checks, and the Child Safety Dashboard together mean admins spend far less time on manual outreach and record-keeping.

What's the difference between Child Safety status and Registration status?

Child Safety status refers specifically to WWCC validation results. Registration status determines overall eligibility to participate. Where eligibility blocking is enabled for a competition, a participant registering to a position of trust will have a Pending registration status until their Child Safety status is VALID, 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. If a legitimate issue exists (for example a non-practising teacher exemption or interstate WWCC scenario), contact your sport's governing body, who can apply a manual override where appropriate.

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 (for example practising registered teacher status).
• Other exemptions, including non-practising teacher registrations, require manual verification by your sport's governing body.
• 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, and an entry appears in your Task List. The participant also receives an automated email. Participants who do not hold a valid WWCC are considered ineligible to participate until they renew 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 sport's governing body, and who are 18 years or older need valid WWCCs. Participants under 18 are automatically marked as UNDERAGE and remain eligible. Participants under 18 can add 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?

This depends on your sport and state. While police officers are typically exempt from WWCC requirements, certain sports require all police officers to apply for a WWCC because they cannot independently verify police badge numbers. This ensures consistent verification processes for all applicants.