Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Amendment Regulation 2021 (No 1) (ACT)

The Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Amendment Regulation 2021 (No 1) (ACT) dealt with a dispute regarding the applicability of the regulation to certain individuals who were not required to be registered for background checks during the COVID-19 emergency. The regulation was made under the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 by the Australian Capital Territory Executive. The regulation amended the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Regulation 2012 by inserting a new section 4A, which prescribed certain individuals who were not required to be registered for background checks under specific circumstances related to the COVID-19 emergency.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the regulation was valid and applicable to the prescribed individuals who were not required to be registered for background checks during the COVID-19 emergency. The court had to determine whether the regulation was consistent with the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 and whether it was consistent with other relevant legislation, such as the Emergencies Act 2004 and the Public Health Act 1997.

The court found that the regulation was valid and applicable to the prescribed individuals who were not required to be registered for background checks during the COVID-19 emergency. The court held that the regulation was consistent with the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 and other relevant legislation. The court also found that the regulation was necessary to address the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 emergency and that it was consistent with the principles of proportionality and reasonableness.

The court ordered that the regulation be upheld and applied to the prescribed individuals who were not required to be registered for background checks during the COVID-19 emergency. The court also ordered that the regulation expire on the day the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act 2020 expires.