Police Vetting

Paparoa Street School completes police vetting as part of our responsibility to ensure the safety of our ākonga (Children's Act 2014, Education and Training Act 2020, Health and Safety at Work Act 2015). Also see Safety Checking.

Who we police vet

At Paparoa Street School we police vet all employed children's workers (core and non-core) as required by the Children's Act. The Children's Act (s 23) defines children's workers as those working in, or providing, a regulated service that may involve regular or overnight access to a child/children without a parent/guardian present.

As required by the Education and Training Act, we also police vet certain people who do not meet the definition of a children's worker but who could come into contact with ākonga at the kura. This may include:

non-teaching kaimahi who are employed, or are applying to be employed, at the kura during normal kura hours, who are not registered kaiako or holders of a limited authority to teach (LAT)
contractors and their employees who may have unsupervised access to ākonga at the kura during normal kura hours
Unsupervised access to ākonga, in relation to a kura, means access to any ākonga on the kura premises during normal kura hours by anyone who is not in the following list (or not observed by or under the supervision of anyone in the following list):
- a registered kaiako or holder of a limited authority to teach
- an employee of the kura who has had a satisfactory police vet within the last three years
- a parent of the ākonga.
Education and Training Act 2020 (s 10)
volunteers, poari matua candidates, and others, as we determine necessary.

When deciding who to police vet, we are guided by the Ministry of Education – see What checks do I need to undertake for adults coming into my school or kura? .

The Teaching Council police vets kaiako as part of registered kaiako gaining a practising certificate, or unregistered and uncertificated kaiako gaining a limited authority to teach (LAT). See Teaching Staff.

Non-teaching kaimahi

We are required by the Children's Act 2014 to police vet non-teaching kaimahi who meet the definition of a children's worker. We are also required by the Education and Training Act (Schedule 4, clause 9) to police vet non-teaching kaimahi who are employed, or applying to be employed, at the kura during normal kura hours, and who are not registered kaiako or holders of a limited authority to teach (LAT). We complete a police vet and risk assessment before non-teaching kaimahi start work at the kura and then every three years.

Contractors

As required by the Education and Training Act (Schedule 4, clause 10), we police vet contractors and sub-contractors, including their employees, if they are likely to have unsupervised access to ākonga at kura during normal kura hours.

We complete a police vet and risk assessment before they have, or are likely to have, unsupervised access to ākonga.
We verify the identities of contractors, sub-contractors, and their employees before allowing them unsupervised access in order to ensure they are the person who was vetted and approved.
If the contractor is an Argest or Network for Learning contractor, we may obtain the police vet directly from Argest or Network for Learning.

The poari matua is responsible for determining the conditions of access for contractors. For kura construction projects we create a kura access plan to determine how and when contractors will access the kura, and which workers will require a police vet. See School property contractors (Ministry of Education).

Also see Contractors Working at Kura.

Volunteers

Volunteers are not legally required to be police vetted, although the kura may choose to do this as we determine necessary. At our kura, we police vet parent volunteers for camps and overnight activities. Also see Volunteer Involvement.

Poari matua candidates

To be appointed to our poari matua, candidates must meet the eligibility requirements of the Education and Training Act 2020 (Schedule 23, clauses 9–10). Candidates are also ineligible if they have a Schedule 2 offence under the Children's Act 2014. See Board Responsibilities.

How we police vet

The poari matua is responsible for police vetting but may delegate the process to a suitable person. The poari matua remains accountable for decisions made about access and supervision.

When police vetting a person, we:

tell them they will be vetted, explain the process (including how long their information will be kept for and why), and obtain their consent
determine which category (core or non-core) a worker belongs to based on their role at Paparoa Street School (if the distinction is unclear, we consult NZSBA and/or seek legal advice)
The kura needs to note which children's worker category (core or non-core) a person fits into when applying for the police vet. This is because the information in the police vet and how the kura is required to respond is different for core and non-core workers.

Core workers:
- are not covered by the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004
- cannot be employed or engaged if they have been convicted of a specified offence set out in Schedule 2 of the Children's Act (unless they hold an exemption).
Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004

Children's Act 2014
give them the opportunity to view and validate the information received in the police vet report or to contact the police if they disagree with this information
complete a risk assessment to determine whether they could pose a risk to the safety of ākonga – see Safety Checking.

In some instances, the kura may choose to accept some or all of the components of a safety check carried out by other organisations (e.g. relieving agencies, teacher training providers, transport service providers) on behalf of the kura, or as part of that organisation's own certifying, enrolment, or employment processes. This may include police vetting. See Safety Checking.

We do not accept police vets supplied by individuals, with the exception of prospective children's workers who have been living overseas and are not registered kaiako.

Record keeping

The kura maintains a detailed record of all police vets and risk assessments. All police vetting and risk assessment information is kept confidential and managed according to our privacy and records retention policies. See Privacy Policy and Kura Records Retention and Disposal.

We keep the following information according to the School Records Retention and Disposal Schedule:

a record of the person's name, the dates of their initial and most recent police vet, details of our risk assessment, and the date their next police vet is due
the vet received from the police (which may be a digital file)
any assurances and risk assessment information if the police vet was carried out by another organisation.

The above police vetting records are kept securely for audit purposes for seven years from the date of the last action. They can then be destroyed, with permission from the poari matua. If unsure, we consult NZSBA or seek legal advice before destroying records.

The tumuaki assures the poari matua that any non-teaching kaimahi (who are not registered kaiako or holders of a limited authority to teach) are police vetted, and any contractors and their employees have been police vetted if they may have unsupervised access to ākonga during normal kura hours. The tumuaki confirms that police vets have been completed every 3 years. See Review Schedule and Poari Matua Assurances.

Related policies

Legislation

Children's Act 2014
Education and Training Act 2020
Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
Privacy Act 2020

Resources

New Zealand Police | Nga Pirihimana o Aotearoa: NZ Police Vetting Service
Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga:

Hei mihi | Acknowledgement

SchoolDocs appreciates the professional advice of the Anderson Lloyd legal team (Dunedin) in reviewing this policy.

Release history: Term 4 2024, Term 1 2024

Topic Number: 5711	Last Modified Date: 22/01/2026 16:00:48
Topic Version: 3	Published Date: 30/01/2026

Last review	Term 3 2025
Topic type	Core