Your Worker Screening Check Just Became Your Responsibility – Here's What That Means

If you work in aged care or NDIS disability support, something significant changed on 1 November 2025. A new Aged Care Act came into force, bringing with it the most sweeping overhaul of worker obligations in the sector's history. And one of the biggest changes is this: your Worker Screening Check is now your professional responsibility – not just your employer's.

Most aged care and support workers don't know this yet. And the stakes of not knowing are real: if your screening check expires and you haven't renewed it, you cannot legally work in aged care. No grace period. No employer covering for you. Just an immediate inability to provide care.

Here's exactly what changed, what it means for you, and how to make sure you're never caught out.

What Changed on 1 November 2025

The New Aged Care Act 2024

The Aged Care Act 2024 came into effect on 1 November 2025, replacing legislation that had been in place since 1997. It was the direct result of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, which found – among many things – that the sector's workforce lacked the individual accountability frameworks that comparable professions had long operated under.

The new Act changed the relationship between workers and the regulatory system in a fundamental way. Previously, compliance obligations sat almost entirely with providers. Providers had to screen workers, maintain records and demonstrate a compliant workforce. Workers were largely passive in this process.

Under the new framework, workers have personal obligations. The Aged Care Code of Conduct applies to you individually. Banning orders can be issued against you individually. And your screening check – the document that demonstrates you are legally permitted to work with older Australians – is yours to maintain and renew.

What the New Screening Rules Require

From 1 November 2025, all aged care workers must hold one of the following before they begin work with any registered provider:

• A valid police certificate issued within the past three years, or
• A valid NDIS Worker Screening Check issued within the past five years

This applies to all workers – employees, contractors, volunteers, workers engaged through subcontractors or digital platforms, and workers engaged through self-management arrangements. There are very few exceptions.

Registered providers are required to verify your screening documentation before you start work and to keep records for seven years. But the renewal of that documentation – making sure it doesn't lapse – is on you.

The Difference Between Provider Obligations and Worker Obligations

What Your Employer Is Responsible For

Your registered provider must:

• Check that you hold a valid police certificate or NDIS Worker Screening Check before you begin work
• Keep a record of your screening documentation
• Ensure supervision arrangements are in place if you begin work on a statutory declaration while awaiting a new clearance
• Not allow you to work in a risk-assessed role if your screening has expired

What You Are Responsible For

You must:

• Hold a valid screening check at all times while working in aged care
• Know your expiry date
• Begin the renewal process in time to avoid a gap in your clearance
• Understand that an expired check means you cannot legally work — regardless of what your employer does or doesn't know

This is the shift that most workers haven't absorbed yet. Your employer checking your documents at the start of your engagement doesn't protect you if your check expires six months later. That's your problem to manage.

NDIS Worker Screening Check vs Aged Care Worker Screening Check

The Current System

Right now, there are two types of screening check relevant to support workers:

The NDIS Worker Screening Check is a nationally consistent screening process managed by state and territory governments. It assesses criminal and misconduct history to determine whether a person poses an unacceptable risk to people with disability. It is valid for five years and is recognised by NDIS registered providers across Australia.

A Police Certificate (from the Australian Federal Police, a state or territory police service, or an ACIC-accredited organisation) is a point-in-time document showing criminal history. It is valid for three years for aged care purposes.

Many aged care workers currently hold an NDIS Worker Screening Check because they work across both the aged care and disability support sectors. The good news: an NDIS Worker Screening Check is accepted as meeting the aged care worker screening requirement under the new Act.

The National Aged Care Worker Screening Check Is Coming

From mid-2026, a dedicated national aged care worker screening check will be introduced, modelled on the NDIS system. This will eventually replace the current police certificate requirement for aged care workers and create a consistent national standard.

When this system goes live, aged care workers will move toward the same individual registration model that NDIS workers already operate under – and that nurses, teachers and other registered professionals have worked within for years.

If you work across both sectors, you may eventually hold a single portable screening credential that covers you for both aged care and NDIS work. Watch the ACQSC website for updates as the rollout date approaches.

What Happens If Your Screening Check Expires

The Immediate Consequences

If your Worker Screening Check or police certificate expires while you are employed in aged care, the consequences are immediate:

• You cannot legally provide funded aged care services
• Your registered provider must not allow you to continue working in a risk-assessed role
• You may begin work under a statutory declaration while a new application is pending, but only with appropriate supervision arrangements in place and only if you have already lodged a new application

The Career Consequences

Beyond the immediate legal position, a gap in your screening creates complications that follow you. When you apply for a new role, you will be asked about your screening history. A lapsed check – even one that was subsequently renewed – can raise questions with a new employer that a continuously valid check never would.

In a sector that is moving toward individual worker registration, your screening history will become part of your professional record in a way it has never been before. Protecting it is protecting your career.

How to Track Your Renewal Dates

The Simple System That Works

The most effective way to manage credential renewals is not to rely on your employer, your memory or a sticky note. It is to build the renewal into your professional routine.

Here is what that looks like in practice:

Know your expiry date. Write it somewhere you will see it regularly – not just in a file on your computer.

Set a three-month reminder. Police certificates require a new application with identity documents and processing time. NDIS Worker Screening Checks can take weeks in some jurisdictions. Three months gives you enough buffer to handle delays without a gap in your clearance.

Keep your certificate number and issuing body recorded. If you need to reference your check quickly – for a new engagement, a new provider's onboarding, or a compliance audit – having this information immediately to hand saves time and stress.

Record where the original is stored. Workers who hold multiple credentials across multiple providers often can't remember which folder, which email or which provider's file holds the original. Your own record keeps this straight.

The Support Worker Diary includes a dedicated Credentials Tracker spread and a visual Expiry at a Glance timeline for the year – so your renewal dates are never buried in a drawer or forgotten in a provider's filing system. Because your credentials belong to you, not your employer.

Key Contacts for Worker Screening

• NDIS Worker Screening information: ndiscommission.gov.au
• Aged Care worker screening guidance: health.gov.au/aged-care-worker-screening
• Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission: agedcarequality.gov.au | 1800 951 822
• Australian Federal Police National Police Check: afp.gov.au/online-services/national-police-checks