St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School acknowledges the important work that volunteers carry out within our school environment. Assistance, whether it is as a volunteer in the classroom, tuckshop, excursions, P&F activities or sporting carnivals, enhances the quality of your child’s teaching and learning experience.
To keep our students safe and comply with student protection and Work Health & Safety legislation, there are some requirements that must be addressed prior to commencing in a volunteering role.
From 31 August 2020, the Queensland Government will make changes to strengthen and streamline the blue card system. The information provided below explains what this means for parents and non-parents volunteering within our school community.
Parent Volunteers
Parent volunteers, except for ‘restricted persons’ (see below), will still be able to volunteer at St Aidan’s without a blue card. However, parent volunteers who provide home stay accommodation organised by the school may require a blue card. The organising staff member will advise you if a blue card is required. Under the new changes, any parent who is a ‘restricted person’ will not be able to volunteer within the school in any capacity. A ‘restricted person’ is a person who either:
- has been issued a negative notice
- has a suspended blue card
- is a disqualified person
- has been charged with a disqualifying offence that has not been finalised.
Non-Parent Volunteers (including Grandparents)
Volunteers who are not parents of current students may not commence or continue in child-related activities unless they hold a valid blue card. This includes grandparents of current students. If a non-parent volunteer already has a valid blue card through another employer/organisation, their blue card will need to be linked to the School before they can commence volunteering.
Blue cards expire three years from the date of issue and must be renewed prior to expiry to ensure continued validity. If a blue card is not renewed prior to its expiry date, the ‘No Card, No Start’ policy applies, and the volunteer will not be able to continue volunteering until their new blue card is received.
For more information about these changes to Queensland’s blue card system, visit the Blue Card Services website.
Apply for a blue card or exemption card
If you require assistance with this process, please contact our Risk & Compliance Officer on compliance@staidans.qld.edu.au or by phoning 07 3373 5958.
What to do next
All volunteers must be registered with the school. This is done by completing the online Volunteer Register form. By completing the online register form, you are stating that you have read, understood and accept the information provided and that you understand your reporting responsibilities as a volunteer. The school will record your name on the School's Employee and Volunteer Register.
All volunteers are required to complete the Volunteer Register form before commencing their volunteering engagement. Once you have commenced the form you cannot save or leave the page, it must be completed in its entirety. The form should only take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.
Complete the Volunteer Register Form
Once registered as a volunteer, every time you visit St Aidan’s to work as a volunteer, you must report to either the Junior or Senior Reception to record your name, time of arrival/departure and indicate that you are a registered volunteer within the School.
If you are no longer volunteering at the School please email compliance@staidans.qld.edu.au and you will be removed from the register.
Key Contacts
Assistant Director of Risk & Compliance: lsaul@ssa.qld.edu.au
Risk & Compliance Officer: compliance@staidans.qld.edu.au
