Working with Children Check (blue card)

All children have the right to be safe and protected from harm. Blue Card Services administers the blue card system – Queensland’s Working with Children Check. Working with Children Checks assess your criminal history and provide an ongoing evaluation of your eligibility to work with children while you are on placement.

If your application is approved, you will be issued with a Positive Notice and a blue card, which allows you to work with children while on placement for three (3) years. It is your responsibility to hold a valid blue card for the duration of your placement.

Most students will be required to hold a valid blue card before the commencement and for the duration of their placement. If you are required to hold a valid blue card, it is against the law for you to commence or continue your placement without one.

Applications should be completed online. There are resources on the Queensland Government website that can help you navigate the application process.

Application processing takes at least five (5) days plus internal processing time at UQ. Should further investigation be needed, this can add extra time.

There is no cost involved for obtaining a blue card for a student placement.

What you will need to apply for a blue card

You will need a Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) customer reference number (CRN) in order to prove your identity to Blue Card Services.

Your CRN is shown on a range of TMR products including a Queensland driver’s license or proof of age card. You can find your CRN in the top right area on the front of your card.

If you don’t already have a Queensland TMR customer reference number, you will need to obtain one before you can progress your blue card application.

How to get a customer reference number

To obtain a TMR customer reference number, check which identity and Queensland residential address documents you will need, then take these documents to a TMR centre in person and request a customer reference number. The staff will take your photo, then you will need to wait for the letter/email confirming your CRN. Keep this in a safe place.

International students

If you are an international student, you should arrive in Queensland with enough time to complete both the customer reference number and then the blue card process before your placement commences.

It is possible to apply for a CRN using a Remote Pack, however this is a lengthy process and not guaranteed to be approved before your placement commences, and no longer recommended.

Applying for a blue card

Once you have your customer reference number (CRN) from the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR):

Step 1: Register for a Blue Card Services account

You will need to register for a Blue Card Services account before you can apply for your blue card. Take note of your Blue Card Services account number once you have registered.

Step 2: Link your account number

Once you receive your account number, you need to enter it into InPlace. The HMBS Placement Ready team will then verify your account number in the Blue Card Services organisational portal and link you to UQ.

You won’t be able to progress your blue card application until this step has been completed. You will be notified by Blue Card Services when you have been linked to UQ and you can then progress to the next step in the application process.

If you already hold a valid blue card, please enter your existing blue card number into InPlace.

Please note: The HMBS Placement Ready team receive a high volume of blue card applications during peak periods. Please do not email or phone the team to advise us of your account number or to ask for a blue card status update. We will link you to UQ as quickly as we can.

Step 3: Apply for a blue card

Once you have been notified by Blue Card Services that you have been linked to UQ, you need to log in to the blue card applicant portal and apply for a blue card.

How to apply for a blue card as a volunteer/student.

Please note: You should select the Student Placement option when you are asked to choose a card type. Do not select Volunteer.

Once Blue Card Services have approved your application, you should receive a Positive Notice via email and your new blue card will be mailed to your nominated address. UQ will also be notified that your card has been approved so there is nothing further for you to do.

Your placement provider may ask to see your blue card at any time, so you should carry it with you at all times while on placement.

Linking an existing blue card to UQ

Renewing your expired blue card

You will receive a reminder from Blue Card Services when your card is going to expire. Do not ignore this reminder.

You will need a Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) customer reference number (CRN) before renewing your blue card. See "what you will need to apply for a blue card" above for these steps.

Once you have your CRN, you can follow the same steps as applying for a new blue card. Please refer to the steps outlined above.

Please note: the same application times apply for renewing a blue card.

It is your responsibility to maintain hold a valid blue card as relevant to your placement. We recommend submitting your renewal at least 1 month prior to the expiry of your existing card.

Disqualified persons and negative blue card notices

To help ensure the safety of children and young people in Queensland, the blue card system stops certain people from holding or applying for a blue card such as:

People convicted of disqualifying offences
Current negative notice holders
People convicted of serious offences as they can only hold a blue card in exceptional circumstances.

If you are a disqualified person, it is an offence to apply for a blue card and penalties may apply. If the outcome of your blue card application is a Negative Notice, you cannot:

apply for, start, or continue in child-related work (paid or voluntary)
carry on a child-related business regulated by the blue card system.

The HMBS Placement Ready team will be notified of your Negative Notice status and will contact your school immediately to have you excluded/removed from any child-related placements.

Your blue card InPlace record will be marked as rejected and appear red in colour with verification comments confirming the status of your blue card application.

You are entitled to make a submission to Blue Card Services to explain your side of the story in relation to police or disciplinary information that might preclude you from holding a blue card. Your submission should demonstrate how your behaviour has changed since the offence occurred. You might want to include written references from employers, colleagues or health professionals who know about your past, or other relevant material.

Important: If you are a disqualified person or you receive a Negative Notice, you should notify your school immediately.

AHPRA registered students

If you are a postgraduate student required to register with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) (for example, psychologists, physiotherapists and dentists), you are not required to apply for a blue card.

You will only need a blue card if you do other work (outside your professional capacity) with children.

Psychology explanatory note

The Psychology Board of Australia does not register students. Students enrolled in an approved program of study that leads to registration with the Psychology Board of Australia need to apply for provisional registration. Therefore, if a student is enrolled in a postgraduate program of study that leads to registration with the Psychology Board of Australia, then it is not possible or necessary for them to be registered as a student with AHPRA. Instead they are registered as a provisional psychologist which meets the Blue Card Services definition of a registered health practitioner: "A registered health practitioner is a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, other than as a student".