CCYPCG home / The blue card system / Foster & kinship care / When do I need to apply?

When do I need to apply?

The Child Protection Act 1999 sets out rules as to when foster or kinship care can be provided:

You can apply for a blue card or exemption card when you have an agreement to work in a child related environment that is regulated by the Commission's Act.

Foster and kinship carers can commence providing regulated child-related services to children and young people once they have submitted their application and received provisional approval from the Department of Communities - Child Safety Unit.

Adult members of a household where foster or kinship care is provided must hold a valid blue card before the care can commence in a home where they are residing.

This means that foster or kinship care can only be provided if:

• the carer has submitted their application and received provisional approval from the Child Safety Unit, and
• all adult members of the home where the care is to be provided hold valid blue cards.

How long will it take?

All foster and kinship care blue card applications must first be submitted to the Child Safety Unit who will undertake their own assessment process to determine if a person is provisionally approved.

Please contact the Child Safety Unit to discuss time frames for this process.

If provisional approval is granted, the Child Safety Unit will forward your application to the Commission and from this date you should allow at least 28 business days for your blue card application to be processed by the Commission.

Applications will take longer to process if:

• forms are incomplete or not correctly filled in. Please ensure each part of the form is filled in by the appropriate person and completed correctly, or
• there is police information or disciplinary information about an applicant that the Commission must retrieve and consider before determining a person's eligibility to work with children.

When should I renew my blue card?

Foster carers and kinship carers may continue in regulated child-related work as long as they submit a renewal form before their blue card expires as long as all adult members of a household have a valid blue card or exemption card.

Adult members of a household where foster or kinship care is provided must submit their renewal form at least 30 days before their blue card expires. If they do not do this, and their blue card expires, they cannot reside in the home where foster or kinship care is provided until they receive a new blue card.

The Commission will send a renewal application to all blue card holders 16 weeks prior to the expiry of their current card. You must advise the Commission of any change to your postal address.

To access the appropriate forms, please select the relevant form below:

• For renewal blue card application forms for foster carers, kinship carers and adult members of a foster carer's of kinship carer's household, please contact the Department of Communities (Child Safety Services) on 3239 3521.
• Renewal blue card application forms for paid employees of a Licensed Care Service and nominees and directors of Licensed Care Services can be accessed from the Department of Child Safety's website at www.childsafety.qld.gov.au
• Please click here for renewal forms for people carrying our work inside a Licensed Residential Facility in their capacity as a paid employee of an ancillary service provider.
• Please click here for renewal forms for self-employed ancillary service providers.
• Please click here for renewal forms for volunteers of a Licensed Care Service or an ancillary service provider at a Licensed Residential Facility.
• If the organisation is unable to sight the applicant's identification documents, please click here.

Please note, exemption cards have no expiry date and remain valid as long as the person is a registered teacher or police officer.

 

Last updated: 6 July, 2011

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