Disability Worker Screening Clearance

For students who already hold a Blue Card and ONLY wish to apply for a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Worker Screening Clearance.

Throughout their Doctor of Medicine program, students will participate in clinical placements involving children and individuals with disabilities. As a mandatory prerequisite for program commencement, students are required to obtain both a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Worker Screening Clearance.

Everyone has the right to be safe and protected from harm. Queensland Government Disability Worker Screening administers this screening process which checks a person’s criminal history against specific criteria to determine whether they are suitable to work with people with disabilities. It is also an ongoing assessment of your eligibility to work with people with disabilities while you are on placement. This is relevant for placement providers who are registered to provide care as part of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) or are state funded to provide care to people with disabilities.

In some instances, this may include Aged Care Facilities.

If your application is approved, you will be issued with a clearance to work with people with a disability while on placement for 5 years. It is your responsibility to hold a valid clearance for the duration of your placement.

If you are required to hold a valid clearance, it is against the law for you to commence or continue your placement without one under the No Card, No Start law.

Apply for your Disability Worker Screening Clearance

Application time: At least 5 days plus internal processing time at UQ. Can take longer if further investigation is needed.

Cost: $0 (students are classed as volunteers)

Applications should be completed online.

Step 1:

You will need a Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) customer reference number (CRN) in order to prove your identity when registering for a Disability Worker Screening account.

You may already have a TMR customer reference number

Do you already have a TMR customer reference number (CRN)? Your customer reference number is shown on a range of TMR products including a Queensland driver’s license or proof of age card. You can find your customer reference number in the top right area on the front of your card.

Example:

Don’t already have a TMR customer reference number?

If you don’t already have a Queensland TMR customer reference number, you will need to obtain one before you can progress your disability worker screening application.

To obtain a TMR customer reference number, check which identity and Queensland residential address documents you will need, then take these documents to a TMR centre in person and request a customer reference number. Let the staff take your photo and wait for the letter/email confirming your CRN and keep it in a safe place.

You must attend a TMR centre in person. If you are a student who is currently offshore and unable to return to Brisbane, it is possible to apply for a CRN using a Remote Pack, however this is a lengthy process. Please see this page for further instructions on how to apply for a CRN using the Remote Pack if this applies to you. Obtaining a CRN is the same process whether you are applying for a Blue Card or a Disability Worker Screening Clearance.

Step 2:

Once you have your CRN, you will need it to register online for a Disability Worker Screening account. You only need to register once. You can register here for a Disability Worker Screening account.

Step 3:

Once you have registered online for a Disability Worker Screening account, you will need to login to the Worker Screening Portal to apply for your screening clearance. You can login to the Worker Screening Portal here.

Step 4:

As part of the application process (Section 5 – Employer Details) you will be asked to confirm your purpose and role relevant to applying for a Disability Worker Screening Clearance as well as the name of your Employer/Placement Provider.

Step 4.1 – Purpose and Role

Select Volunteer and
NDIS Improved Health & Wellbeing (unless another obvious choice is more relevant for your placement activities for example an OT student might choose NDIS Improved Daily Living Skills Or a Counselling student might choose NDIS Improved Relationships)

Step 4.2

Next you need to add your ‘employer’. You should nominate The University of Queensland (Employer ID 4-433C-2267) as your employer.

Step 5:

Submit your application, and it will be directed to NDIS to initiate your screening. Once you have received your clearance, your disability worker screening card will be mailed to your nominated address. UQ will also be notified when your application has been approved so there is nothing further for you to do.

What do I need to do?

If you don’t already have a disability worker screening clearance you will need to apply for one as long as you are not a disqualified person. If you are a disqualified person, it is an offence to apply for a disability worker screening clearance and penalties may apply.

If you hold an existing valid DWSC/Yellow Card you can continue to provide care to people with disabilities until your card expires.

If your DWSC/Yellow card is due to expire, you will need to apply for a new disability worker screening clearance before your card expires. You can apply for a clearance up to three months before the expiry of your yellow card. To keep working while your application is processed, your application needs to be submitted and verified before your card expires. If you fail to do so, you may be subject to ‘No Card, No Start’ which will require you to cease your placement until you receive a clearance.

if you have an existing clearance from QLD or from another state in Australia, please upload a JPEG of your current card/evidence of clearance to the attribute via your Placements profile: