What is Disability Worker Screening?

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.

What do I need to do?

You should only apply for a disability worker screening clearance if your placement provider requires it.

Important:  Do not apply for a disability worker screening clearance unless you are advised to do so.

If you don’t already have a disability worker screening clearance and you have been advised that you need one for your placement, 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 Yellow Card you can continue to provide care to people with disabilities until your card expires.

If your 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.

Should I apply for a combined disability worker screening and working with children check?

No. Even though you may be required to have both clearances, we request that you do not apply for a combined clearance.  Please follow the Blue Card application instructions if you also require a working with children check and apply for both of these clearances separately.

Contact us

Student enquiries
Placement Ready team
habs.placementready@uq.edu.au

Phone
07 3346 0903 Monday - Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Visit us
Room 539A, Level 5, 
Human Movement Studies Building (26B)

Individual student consultations are available on:

  • Mondays - Thursdays 11am - 2pm. 

Online Chat

The HABS Placement Ready team are available for online chat Monday to Thursday afternoon from 1pm to 3pm.

You can find the chat function on the Prepare for your placement homepage

NEW Live Video Chat

Monday - Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm. Click HERE to access live video chat site with our team or scan the QR Code below to connect directly with our team: