Safety checks and Police vetting is required by the Children's Act 2014.
Children’s Act 2014 – New Zealand Legislation
Police vets must also be completed for anyone who, in the course of their work for the service provider, is not defined as a children's worker. This is set out in Schedule 4 of the Education and Training Act 2020.
Schedule 4 of the Education and Training Act 2020 – New Zealand Legislation
Volunteers do not need to be Police vetted under the Children's Act 2014 or the Education and Training Act 2020.
You must Police vet:
- non-teaching and unregistered employees before the person begins work at the service and
- contractors and their employees before the person has, or is likely to have, unsupervised access to children.
Police vets at a governance level are also part of the process of applying for a probationary licence. Information about this is available in the EC1 probationary licence application form.
Probationary licence and application form for home-based early learning
Probationary licence and application form for centre-based early learning
Apply for a Police vet
The New Zealand Police website describes what a Police vet is and sets out the process.
Police vetting service – New Zealand Police
Police vetting applications may take up to 20 business days to process.
A Police vet must be updated by the employer at least every 3 years.
Police vets for home-based care
Anyone aged 17 years or above who lives in a home where home-based education and care is being provided must be Police vetted:
- If the adult lives in a home that becomes licensed for home-based education and care, you must get their Police vet before the service begins to operate. This applies even if the person is unlikely to be present when the service is operating.
- If the adult moves to a home that is already being used for home-based education and care, you must obtain their Police vet before they move in.
Police vets for teachers
The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand (Teaching Council) is responsible for Police vetting registered teachers and relief teachers. This is part of the process to hold a practicing certificate or Limited Authority to Teach (LAT).
Registered teachers are expected to disclose any new convictions and serious matters to the Teaching Council. The Teaching Council will not share the content of Police vets with you.
Find a registered teacher – Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
If a practising certificate lapses
If a teacher's practising certificate lapses, the teacher cannot continue working as a children's worker until:
- the practising certificate has been renewed
- an extension to teach has been received
- or you get a Police vet yourself in the meantime.
Other parts of the periodic safety re-check should be completed to make sure risk has been assessed.
Police vets for overseas children's workers
Children's workers who lived overseas for more than 1 year within the last 10 years should provide a Police certificate from the country where they lived.
If a children's worker cannot provide you with a Police certificate, they need to prove that they tried to get one. They must also make a statutory declaration under the Oaths and Declarations Act about whether they have any overseas criminal convictions.
Oaths and Declarations Act 1957 – New Zealand Legislation
The New Zealand Police vetting service can check staff or volunteers who have lived in Australia.
Australian criminal history checking service – New Zealand Police
The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand sets out the process for Police vetting teachers from other countries.
Overseas police clearance – Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
Police vets by other organisations
Some other organisations may supply a Police vet as part of safety checking a children's worker. This may be tertiary training providers and relief teacher agencies.
Your service is responsible for confirming that a full safety check has been done. This is set out in our criteria:
- GMA7A for centre-based services
- GMA6A for home-based services
- GMA7A for hospital-based services
- GMA7A for kōhanga reo
- MA6 for playgroups.
Keeping Police vet information
You must keep a Police vet for at least as long as the person vetted is employed or engaged. That person must be told how long the information is kept, and why. If the information is used for an audit, you must have the person's permission for this before they are Police vetted.
You must provide a Police vet to us if we request it.
Keep information confidential
All Police vetting information must be kept confidential and managed by your early learning service in accordance with the:
You cannot share a Police vet with other agencies or accept a Police vet from them.
Once the information is no longer required to be retained, it must be securely destroyed.
