Blue Card Services

Screening Services is responsible for the end-to-end processing of blue card applications and for supporting organisations to manage their blue card obligations.

Eligibility Assessment

The Eligibility Assessment team assesses adverse information received from the National Reference System and Working With Children Check to determine whether an applicant is eligible to hold a blue card.

The team also receives and actions notifications from the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and other agencies, such as the Queensland College of Teachers, about information that may impact a person’s continued eligibility to continue to hold a blue card to work with children.

The team includes community engagement officers—including First Nations staff—who take submissions  over the phone or in person and visit remote and regional communities to provide assistance and support. The First Nations officers also provide a cultural lens to assist in the decision-making process. The application of a cultural lens recognises the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, which have resulted in adverse outcomes and particular cultural sensitivities which may be relevant.

The Eligibility Assessment team conducts all review hearings and appeals of blue card eligibility decisions in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Processing

The Processing team is responsible for processing blue card applications including supporting applicants with using the Online Applicant Portal, identity requirements and other administrative issues that may arise during the application process. The team also provides direct support to employers using the BCS Organisation Portal to manage their blue card obligations.

Community Information

The Community Information team provides a range of information and services to stakeholders to raise awareness on the scope and role of the blue card system and build the capacity of organisations and individuals to achieve compliance with their blue card and risk management obligations.

The team responds to direct enquiries from the public through the contact centre, providing information sessions/workshops and written advice to external stakeholders.

The team also develops and maintains online content including the BCS website, podcasts, YouTube videos and other resources to help individuals and organisations better understand and access the blue card system.

Compliance

The Compliance team monitors and audits individual and service providers’ compliance with their blue card system obligations to ensure appropriate safeguards for children and young people are being implemented and maintained. The focus is on educating and building the capacity of organisations and individuals to provide safer service environments for children.

The team also acts in response to information received from the public or from internal sources such as the Eligibility Assessment and Community Information teams when blue card compliance issues are identified.

Where the Compliance team suspects or identifies a serious breach which requires immediate escalation or an educative approach is inappropriate, the matter is formally referred to the QPS for investigation and possible prosecution.

Business Applications Support

The Business Applications Support team provides governance, maintenance and support services for BCS business applications and other information and communication technology applications.

The team also provides advice on how business units can best utilise the full capability of business applications already in place and recommend enhancements, where appropriate, to meet emerging needs and requirements.

Business Services

Business Services provides high quality advice and support within BCS with respect to corporate reporting, the management of financial resources, budget, human resources, information record management, asset management, purchasing, contract and vendor management, facilities management and other business and administrative issues, ensuring compliance with relevant government and departmental policies, procedures and standards across business units.

Reform

BCS has a team dedicated to ongoing reform, service improvements and managing implementation of various initiatives arising from external reviews and government recommendations, including:

• the Queensland Family and Child Commission’s report Keeping Queensland’s children more than safe: Review of the blue card system (PDF)
• Safe children and strong communities: A strategy and action plan for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and organisations accessing the blue card system
• the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
• the Legal Affairs Safety Committee Report No. 38, 57th Parliament—Working with Children (Indigenous Communities) Amendment Bill 2021.

Blue Card Projects

Current projects include the Queensland Worker Screening Program and the Norfolk Island Worker Screening Project.

Queensland Worker Screening Program

A program team has been established to implement a co-administration model for Working with Children and Disability Worker Screening within DJAG.

Co-administration is a single agency (DJAG) administering both the working with children and disability worker screening systems. While DJAG will be responsible for administration, the systems will maintain separate decision-making frameworks and continue to issue standalone products—blue card and yellow card—to ensure existing safeguards are maintained. Where it is practicable and beneficial to do so, some harmonisation of processes and streamlining improvements will be implemented, together with new technology (if approved) to achieve efficiencies in a phased approach.

The program has a number of work streams including Human Resources, Finance, Operations, Technology, Governance, Policy and Legislation.

Norfolk Island Worker Screening project

The Norfolk Island Worker Screening project has been established to explore the possibility of applying Working with Children Checks and National Disability Insurance Scheme Worker Screening Checks on Norfolk Island.

The project requires close consultation with BCS, Disability Worker Screening, the Department of Premier and Cabinet and the Norfolk Island Oversight Committee.