Police check and NDIS Worker Check: the screening you need to work in care

Anyone who works with older people or people with disability has to pass a background check first. You will need one before your work placement and again when you start a job, so it pays to understand them early. This guide covers the rules in NSW as of October 2026.

Aged care: police certificate or NDIS clearance

Aged care providers must make sure their workers have either a national police certificate that is no more than three years old, or a current NDIS Worker Screening Check clearance. Providers cannot engage someone whose screening shows certain serious convictions, and workers must tell their provider if they are later convicted of one of those offences.

Disability support: the NDIS Worker Check

To work in many roles with NDIS participants you need an NDIS Worker Screening Check. In NSW you apply through Service NSW:

1. Start the application online in your MyServiceNSW Account.
2. Visit a Service NSW Centre with your original identity documents to finish it. Your photo is taken there.
3. Your employer verifies the application, and the check is then processed.

A clearance lasts five years. It is digital, so there is no card, and you can use it with any NDIS employer anywhere in Australia, including if you change jobs or move interstate.

Working with Children Check

Some community and disability services also work with children and young people. If a facility asks for a Working with Children Check, apply for it through Service NSW as well.

Tips

• Ask your placement facility or employer which check they want before you apply, so you do not pay for the wrong one.
• Apply as soon as you enrol. Some checks take a few weeks.
• Keep a copy of your clearance number and expiry date with your course documents.

Rules change, so always confirm the current requirements on the Service NSW NDIS Worker Check guide and the Department of Health aged care workforce pages. Questions about checks for your ETC placement? Contact us.