Disqualifying offences
To help keep children in Queensland safe, there are certain people who are disqualified from applying for or holding a blue or exemption card.
If you are a disqualified or relevant disqualified person and you sign a blue or exemption card application, you may receive a penalty.
Who is a disqualified person
You are a disqualified person if you are:
- convicted of a disqualifying offence—regardless of the penalty and regardless of when and where it occurred—which includes
- sexual conduct with a child, regardless of the type of relationship e.g. teenage boyfriend/girlfriend
- grooming of children
- child exploitation material offences
- other child-related sex offences
- murder and other serious sexual or violent offences against an adult or child
- a reportable offender under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004
- the subject of an offender prohibition order under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004
- prohibited by a court from applying for or holding a blue card
or
- the subject of a sexual offender order under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003.
Who is a relevant disqualified person
You are a relevant disqualified person if you have been or are:
- convicted of a disqualifying offence and received an order of imprisonment, including a suspended imprisonment order
- a reportable offender under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004
- the subject of an offender prohibition order under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004
- prohibited by a court from applying for or holding a blue card
or
- the subject of a sexual offender order under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003.
What is a disqualifying offence
An offence is categorised as a disqualifying offence under the Act if it is an offence:
- against a provision of an Act detailed in the list of disqualifying offences
- under a law of another jurisdiction that, if it had been committed in Queensland, would have constituted an offence of a kind detailed in the list of disqualifying offences
- of counselling or procuring the commission of an offence of a kind mentioned in the list of disqualifying offences
- of attempting—or of conspiring—to commit an offence of a kind detailed in the list of disqualifying offences
- that has—as an element—an intention to commit an offence of a kind mentioned in the list of disqualifying offences
or
- that—at the time it was committed—was an offence of a kind mentioned in the list of disqualifying offences.
All disqualifying offences are listed in Schedule 4 or Schedule 5 of the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000.
There is also a list of serious offences.
What happens if you are a disqualified or relevant disqualified person
If you are a disqualified or relevant disqualified person you cannot:
- apply for, start or continue in child-related work—paid or voluntary—regulated by the blue card system
- carry on a child-related business regulated by the blue card system.
If you do either of these things, you are committing an offence and may receive a penalty.
A disqualified or relevant disqualified person is also a restricted person.
You should also be aware that if you are a relevant disqualified person you are never allowed to apply for or hold a blue or exemption card.
What happens if you are charged with a disqualifying offence
Non card holders
If you make an application for a blue or exemption card and have an outstanding charge for a disqualifying offence, or are subsequently charged with a disqualifying offence while we are processing your application, we will immediately withdraw your application.
If the charge is finalised and you are not convicted of the offence you can submit a new application and we will assess your eligibility to hold a blue or exemption card.
Card holders
If you already have a blue or exemption card and are charged with a disqualifying offence we will immediately suspend your card and you cannot continue to work or volunteer with children. The suspension of your card also means you become a restricted person.
When the charge is finalised we will reassess the information to determine whether you are eligible to work or volunteer with children. Your card remains suspended while we reassess your eligibility and you cannot work or volunteer with children while this reassessment process occurs.
However if you are convicted of the disqualifying offence and sentenced to a term of imprisonment, you are a relevant disqualified person and we must immediately cancel your blue or exemption card. You are not entitled to apply for a review of this decision.
Eligibility declaration process
If you are a disqualified person—but not a relevant disqualified person—you can apply for an eligibility declaration. Until you are declared eligible to apply it is an offence for you to:
- apply for, start or continue in child-related work—paid or voluntary—regulated by the blue card system
- carry on a child-related business regulated by the blue card system.
During the eligibility declaration process we will conduct the blue card check.
To support your application we will ask you to make a submission.
If your application for an eligibility declaration is refused you cannot apply for a blue or exemption card and you cannot appeal this decision. You may reapply for an eligibility declaration 2 years after your application is refused.
Find out if you need a blue card before you apply.