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The Teachers Registration Board of South Australia (TRB) is a body corporate established pursuant to Section 5 of the Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004 (the Act). The object of the Board is to establish and maintain a teacher registration system and professional standards for teachers to safeguard the public interest in there being a teaching profession whose members are competent educators and fit and proper persons to have the care of children.
Pursuant to Section 22(2)(a) of the Act an applicant for registration must consent to the conduct of a criminal record check
The Board has been granted accredited third party status with CrimTrac, established by the Australasian Police Ministers Council as a major national law enforcement support initiative. CrimTrac provides a National Criminal History Record Checking (NCHRC) service to accredited third party agencies primarily for the purpose of ensuring persons in positions of trust are adequately screened for criminal records.
Confidentiality - Policy and Procedures
The TRB Legal Unit is responsible for the conduct of all criminal record checks. The Legal Unit’s operations are physically confined to a dedicated secure area of the Board’s office.
Employees of the Board are bound by Section 6 of the Public Sector Management Act 1995 (PSM Act) relating to employee conduct standards. In particular Section 6(c) states:
“Public Sector employees are expected to -
deal with information of which they have knowledge as a result
of their work only in accordance with the requirements of their
agencies.”
Pursuant to Section 6(ea) of the PSM Act employees of the Board are also obliged to observe the requirements of the “Code of Conduct for South Australian Public Sector Employees”. This code includes requirements relating to integrity, conflict of interest and accountability.
Only Legal Unit staff are authorised and nominated as “Agency Personnel” to access and handle CrimTrac systems and information. All nominated Agency Personnel must sign a CrimTrac “Deed of Confidentiality”, an agreement not to access, use, disclose or retain criminal history information except for the purposes of the contract existing between the Board and CrimTrac Agency. All Legal Unit staff must undertake a criminal record check.
No CrimTrac document or any information contained within will be disclosed to any person unless required by law. In particular, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet Circular 12 otherwise known as the “Information Privacy Principles Instruction” will be strictly complied with.
Pursuant to Section 53 of the Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004 employees of the Board must not divulge or communicate personal information obtained (whether by that person or otherwise) in the course of official duties.
Any matters are considered on an individual basis and are assessed taking into account all relevant circumstances. From experience, the majority of records are either returned as clear or are cleared by nominated personnel. If further information or clarification is required a teacher will be contacted and either requested to provide a written statement or explanation, or invited to attend an interview to discuss the matter. Procedural fairness and the principles of natural justice are adhered to at all times. All offences are assessed using the following general guidelines:
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Child protection implications, age and vulnerability
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Relevance in a school teaching environment
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The gravity and nature of convictions
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Circumstances surrounding the offence(s), whether alcohol, drugs or a weapon was involved
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The harm to any victim including injury or loss
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Adverse impact on the teaching profession
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Total criminal history
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Severity of sentence imposed
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Length of time since offence, any rehabilitation
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Age at time of offence(s) e.g. adult or juvenile
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Evidence of the applicant’s good character since offence committed
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Whether offence has been decriminalised
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Whether found guilty ‘without conviction’
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Whether penalty restricted only to a fine
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Personal circumstances at the time of offending
Identification Disputes
Where an applicant disputes the accuracy of the information provided from police records, either in part or in full, the applicant will be provided with information about the steps the applicant must take to establish a comparison fingerprint check, and will then be advised to contact the Disputed Criminal History Contact Officer in the police jurisdiction from which the information originated to determine whether the Criminal History Information released by CrimTrac relates to that applicant.
Teachers who require further information about procedures or other matters related to criminal record checks should contact the staff of the Legal Unit on 8226 5984 to discuss their issues.
For Conditions of Registration in relation to reporting obligations for teachers refer to:
Part 5 Section 24 (2)(a)(i) of the Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004 states reporting obligations of teachers. For this purpose:
a complaint or information filed with any court
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'an offence of a kind specified in the condition' is defined as:
any offence for which imprisonment is a penalty or any other offence which involves dishonest conduct or sexual misconduct or indecent behaviour or illicit drugs
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'details specified in the condition' is defined as:
provision of name, address and details/circumstances relating to a charge or conviction
Proof of Identity for New Applications
You must provide certified copies of documentary evidence to prove your identity sufficient to satisfy a ‘100 Point Identification Check’ (201) as required by the Board’s arrangement with CrimTrac. This must include one primary document (70 points) such as a Birth Certificate, Citizenship Certificate, or International Travel Document (e.g. passport) and one secondary document (40 points) such as an Australian driver's licence, identification card as a public employee, Centrelink card or tertiary student identification card. Refer to this document for a full list of acceptable documents.
Documentation provided in 100 Point Identification Checks will be treated in a confidential manner. Refer to Confidentiality Policies and Procedures.
Overseas Criminal Record Checks for new applicants (Question 9.9)
If you have resided in any other country other than Australia for more than 12 continuous months during the past 10 years when over 18 years of age, you will need to provide either
- original or certified copies of criminal record checks from those countries issued in the last 12 months or
- evidence of Australian temporary or permanent residency issued in the last 12 months
You must obtain this documentation before lodging this application with the Board. For assistance in obtaining criminal record checks from other countries, please contact the respective Embassy or Consulate.
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