Changes to registration to work with vulnerable people requirements coming into effect 1 April 2025

In 2024, Registration to Work with Vulnerable People (RWVP) announced that the RWVP Scheme is expanding to strengthen the protections in place for vulnerable people, including children.

As part of the expansion process, the Registration to Work with Vulnerable People Regulations 2024 (the Regulations) were amended to remove two exemptions from registration: the 7-day exemption and the emergency management worker exemption.

On 1 April 2025, the amended Regulations will come into effect. This means that these exemptions will no longer exist.

What does this mean?

• Workers and volunteers who previously used the 7-day exemption will need to apply for registration if they want to continue working and/or volunteering in their regulated activity from 1 April 2025
• employers and organisations will no longer need to track the number of days a person is volunteering in a regulated activity while unregistered.

You can find more information on these changes and what they mean for your sector in the RWVP Expansion Fact Sheet for phase one of the project. A recent project update is also available in the latest issue of the RWVP Expansion Project newsletter.

What else is changing?

Other changes being made to the RWVP Scheme over the next two years include introducing:

• new regulated activities to protect new categories of vulnerable people by December 2025
• a new information technology (IT) system to improve registration processes. This will include a new online registration system to provide a better user experience for registrants and employers
• nationally consistent aged care worker registration during 2026 (subject to a national agreement currently under development).

As these changes progress, RWVP will be consulting with key stakeholders to ensure that the outcomes are meeting the needs of our most vulnerable and the Tasmanian community.

To keep up to date with changes to the RWVP Scheme and learn about future consultation opportunities, subscribe to the project newsletter.

More information on the expansion of the Scheme can be found on the Department of Justice website. If you have any questions for the project team, email them to rwvpexpansion@justice.tas.gov.au.