Blue cards for child accommodation services

You need a blue card if you own or operate a child accommodation service, or you work or volunteer to provide services to children in a child accommodation service. Child accommodation services include:

• homestay providers
• exchange programs such as an international student exchange
• overnight camps or excursions such as a school camp or overnight stay for a sports tournament
• youth shelters

If you are participating solely in daytime activities of a camp or excursion, you are not classified under this category. However, you may fall under another category of regulated employment or business.

Employees and volunteers

Homestays

If you are providing a homestay for a student, both the person providing the homestay, as well as every adult occupant of the home, must hold a blue card.

Sometimes a person staying in your home as part of a homestay or international exchange will also need a blue card, depending on whether they are temporarily staying in your home or residing in your home. Things to consider when deciding if a person is residing in your home include:

• the length of their stay
• whether your home is their principal place of residence
• whether they have listed your address for an identity document (licence or other mail).

Contact your homestay provider for further information.

Examples

You need blue card if you:

• will be providing a homestay to children, including an international student exchange program, through a school or homestay facilitation service
• are a homestay student who will be turning 18 during your stay, provided you are residing in the home
• are a Queensland sworn police officer or registered teacher who provides homestay to students at a school.

You do not need a blue card if you are:

• under 18 years old, residing in a home providing a homestay service
• visiting (not residing in) a home where a homestay service is provided – such as a friend or family member staying overnight
• a relative providing homestay services to a child – such as an aunt looking after their niece
• a temporary (not resident) homestay student who turns 18 during their stay
• an adult international student (18 years or older) who is temporarily staying in a home where homestay services are provided.
• a foreign teacher accompanying a study group who does not provide any other services or activities to other children in Queensland

Overnight camps

You need a blue card if your work, volunteer duties, or business activities include providing services (including the camp itself, as well as other services and activities) to children at an overnight camp or excursion.

You do not need a blue card if you are a tradesperson or maintenance worker called to an overnight camp and your role is limited to the maintenance and repair of the site, does not involve staying overnight, and does not permit more than incidental contact with children.

Read more about when you’ll need a blue card for overnight camps or excursions.

Business owners or operators

If you own or operate a child accommodation service, you will need a blue card.

Examples

You need a blue card if you are a:

• business operator who facilitates homestay arrangements with schools
• business owner who organises volunteers to provide child accommodation services.

You don’t need a blue card if you are a:

• business operator of a women’s or men’s shelter – provided they don’t offer regulated child-related services – such as childminding
• business operator of a domestic violence shelter.

Homestay providers must ensure they include policies and procedures for people visiting/staying during homestay periods. Read more about child and youth risk management strategy.

Other accommodation services

For child accommodation services provided:

• in a school boarding facility, refer to the schools board facility category
• in a residential facility, refer to the residential facility category
• as part of a kinship or foster care arrangement, refer to the blue cards for care of children under the Child Protection Act 1999 or blue cards for foster and kinship carers.