Print

Serious offences

To help ensure the safety of children and young people in Queensland, the blue card system stops certain people from holding or applying for a blue card such as people convicted of disqualifying offences or current negative notice holders.

This page provides information about serious offences, including what happens if you are charged or convicted of one.

What is a serious offence

An offence is a serious offence if it is an offence:

  • against a provision of an Act in the list of serious offences
  • committed under a law of another jurisdiction, but if it had been committed in Queensland would be considered a serious offence in the list of serious offences
  • that is a reportable offence under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004 that is not otherwise a serious offence under this Act
  • of counselling or procuring of the commission of an offence of a kind mentioned in the list of serious 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, an offence of a kind mentioned in the list of serious offences.

All serious offences are listed in Schedule 2 or Schedule 3 of the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000.

There is also a list of disqualifying offences.

What happens when you are charged with a serious offence

Non card holders

If your application is being processed and you are charged with a serious offence, we will immediately withdraw your application.

You cannot apply again until the charge has been finalised in court. When the charge has been finalised, you will need to 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 serious offence, we will immediately suspend your card and you cannot continue to work or volunteer with children. We will not reassess your eligibility to hold a blue card until the charge has been finalised in court.

While your card is suspended you are considered a restricted person.

Once the charge has been finalised, we will conduct another blue card check and reassess the information to determine whether you are eligible to work or volunteer with children.

To support your application, we will ask you to make a submission. If your application is approved we will give you a blue or exemption card. If your application is refused, we will not give you a blue or exemption card and you will not be able to work or volunteer with children.

What happens when you are convicted of a serious offence

If you have been convicted of a serious offence, you can still apply for a blue or exemption card.

When we receive your application, we will conduct the blue card check and assess any information to decide whether you are eligible to work or volunteer with children.

To support your application, we will ask you to make a submission. If your application is approved, we will give you a blue or exemption card. If your application is refused, we will not give you a blue card and you will not be able to work or volunteer with children.

If you are convicted of a serious offence, until you are issued a blue or exemption card or—if your blue or exemption card was suspended—the card is reinstated, you must not:

  • apply for, start or continue in child-related work (paid or voluntary)
  • carry on a child-related business regulated by the blue card system.

If you do either of these things, you will be committing an offence and may receive a penalty.

How to make a submission

If we receive information from your blue card check that suggests we should not issue a blue or exemption card, we will ask you to make a submission. The submission gives you a chance to tell us about your police or disciplinary information and tell your side of the story.

Your submission should show us how your behaviour has changed since the offending happened. You can include written references from employers, colleagues or health professionals who know about your past, or other relevant material.

Read the How to make a submission fact sheet.

If you need independent legal advice, you may choose to contact organisations such as:

If you do not provide a submission, we will either withdraw your application or refuse to issue you a blue or exemption card. If this happens, you will not be able to work with children.

We will assess all the information we have before making a final decision.

Last updated:
19 April 2024
Share this page: