Risk assessments after a Police vet

The Police vet will include any information that the Police think is relevant to the role the person will hold at school.

School boards must consider that information to assess whether the person would pose a risk to the safety of children if they were to work at the school.

The board must follow our guidelines when doing a risk assessment and show this in your decision-making. This is required under Schedule 4 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

Education and Training Act 2020: Schedule 4 (Police vetting) – New Zealand Legislation

Your school will also have policies and procedures for using information in the Police vet to support employment decisions. These should be reviewed regularly so they align with the Act and our guidelines.

Guidelines for risk assessment

You must consider:

• the relevance of the information in the Police vet to the role being vetted for
• any risk to children.

If there has been a conviction, you must take into account:

• the nature and severity of the offending
• the individual’s age at the time of the offending
• the amount of time that has passed since the offending, whether any more offending has happened and whether behavioural change has happened since
• the number of convictions that are relevant to the role
• other offences committed or a pattern of recurring offending
• any aggravating or mitigating factors.

You should discuss any concerns with the person who was vetted as part of your assessment.

They must be allowed to see the results and have the opportunity to correct anything that isn’t accurate.