The assessment process involves psychometric assessment of the person as well as a one-on-one interview with a registered psychologist that has at least 5 years of relevant experience.

Upon completion of the assessment, the psychologist will provide a statement regarding the suitability of the person to be employed within a Children's Residential Facility.

A person who has undergone a psychological assessment and has been deemed psychologically suitable will not be required to be re-assessed unless the Chief Executive (or delegate) determines that a further assessment is required.

A DCP employee, contractor or volunteer who has remained in continuous employment since undergoing a psychological assessment, and has been assessed as being psychologically suitable, will not be required to be reassessed unless the Chief Executive (or delegate) determines that a further assessment is required.

Providers approved by the Department for Child Protection can deliver psychological assessments. A list of currently approved providers is available below:

To access and negotiate terms for the provision of psychological assessment services, contact one of these approved providers.

Prospective psychological assessment service providers

Organisations wishing to provide psychological assessment services may apply to become an approved provider by completing the Psychological assessment service providers application for approval form (DOCX, 106.9 KB).

The form must be submitted to DCPPsychologicalAssessments@sa.gov.au.

The DCP Psychological Assessments Team can provide assistance in preparing applications as required. For further detail on the application process, refer to the Psychological service provider application process flowchart (PDF, 108.2 KB).

If you are approved to provide psychological assessment services, your details will be published on this page for access by licensed residential care facilities and organisations providing staff to residential care facilities.

Once you have selected an approved provider, an application for your psychological assessment approach will need to be completed and submitted to DCPPsychologicalAssessments@sa.gov.au.

Upon approval, the DCP Psychological Assessments Team will provide you with useful templates, and discuss how you may go about identifying employees or applicants who have already been assessed and do not require further assessment.

Licensed residential care facilities

Operators of licensed residential care facilities can apply to have their psychological assessment approach approved by completing the Licensed residential care facilities application form (DOCX, 125.3 KB) and submitting to DCPPsychologicalAssessments@sa.gov.au.

Operators will need to provide evidence of their assessment processes, as well as copies of their organisation's intended forms. The application form contains examples to help with this.

Where seeking to use the services of a psychological assessment provider who has not been previously approved by the DCP Chief Executive, an application from the proposed psychological service provider for consideration by the Chief Executive will be required.

Refer to the Licensed residential care facilities / organisations providing contract staff to residential care facilities application process flowchart (PDF, 107.5 KB) for an overview of the process.

Organisations providing staff to residential care facilities

Organisations that provide staff to residential care facilities can apply to have their psychological assessment approach approved by completing the Contract staff provider application form (DOCX, 125.7 KB) and submitting to DCPPsychologicalAssessments@sa.gov.au.

Organisations will need to provide evidence of their assessment processes, as well as copies of their organisation's intended forms. The application form contains examples to help with this.

Where seeking to use the services of a psychological assessment provider who has not been previously approved by the DCP Chief Executive, an application from the proposed psychological service provider for consideration by the Chief Executive will be required.

Refer to the Licensed residential care facilities / organisations providing contract staff to residential care facilities application process flowchart (PDF, 107.5 KB) for an overview of the process.

A residential care employee, contractor, or volunteer may at any time and at the discretion of the Chief Executive, be directed to undertake a further psychological assessment, either in full or in part (e.g. clinical forensic interview), as deemed appropriate to the circumstances.

On approval, you may commence your psychological assessment process for job applicants (including volunteer applicants) and existing employees (including volunteers).

You are required to conduct a pre-employment check with the department prior to assessing an individual.

Please refer to the published flowcharts and application form for further information on requirements for requesting and providing psychological assessment information.

All candidates are to be provided with an Information and Acknowledgement form a minimum of three business days prior to commencing the psychological assessment process.

If a candidate refuses to sign and return the Information and Acknowledgement form prior to being referred, the psychological assessment must not progress.

The Assessing Service provider (psychological) may require a copy of the Information and Acknowledgement form upon referral. Additionally, the Assessing Service provider (psychological) may require an additional consent form for their own use / purposes (this is not required as part of the application process, nor for the submission of results from the Employing organisation to DCP).

On completion of the assessment process, the Assessing Service provider (psychological) provides the Employing organisation with the candidates assessment outcome details.

Upon receiving the assessment outcome information, the Employing organisation is required to provide the assessment information to the DCP Psychological Assessments Team, including a copy of the signed Information and Acknowledgement form. Unsuitable assessment outcomes must be provided within 2 business days from date of receipt, and suitable assessment outcomes within 5 business days from date of receipt. The DCP Psychological Assessments Team will record the assessment information and save forms in the centralised database for future verification purposes.

Note: There are no touch points between DCP and the Assessing Service provider (psychological).

Refer to the documents below for more detail on these requirements:

• Pre-employment check flow chart (PDF, 153.2 KB)
• Providing assessment outcomes to DCP flow chart (PDF, 104.6 KB)

The DCP Psychological Assessment Team can provide some support as you implement your psychological assessment processes - in particular, providing suggested templates and answering questions you may have about the process.

Employees and prospective employees should be advised of the outcome of their assessment, as this will have sector-wide application and implications.

The Department for Child Protection will receive information about each person assessed, including assessment outcomes, and may share the assessment outcome in connection with any employment (including volunteer positions), or application for employment, subject to these laws.

When establishing procedures for notifying existing and prospective employees of their assessment outcomes, you should consider having appropriate support strategies in place. If a person is assessed as unsuitable to be employed in a children's residential facility, they may not be re-assessed under Section 110A for a period of one (1) year, unless the Chief Executive (or delegate) determines otherwise.

The Department for Child Protection will work with each licensed children's residential facility provider to assess the impact of any costs associated with the introduction of psychological assessment requirements.

As a contracted provider, you will be asked to report on any psychological assessment costs incurred as part of the existing quarterly contract acquittal processes. This cost will be managed on a case by case basis, given the differing circumstances surrounding each provider's contractual arrangements with the department.

Persons employed in Children's Residential Facilities operated by the Department for Child Protection

Section 110A of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 commenced on 26 February 2018. The Children and Young People (Safety) Regulations 2017 provide a lead-in period for persons who are not an employee of the Department for Child Protection, subject to conditions. This lead-in period expired on 6 September 2019.

Persons employed in licensed Children's Residential Facilities

Section 107 of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 commenced on 22 October 2018.  The Children and Young People (Safety) Regulations 2017 provide a lead-in period, subject to conditions. This lead-in period expired on 22 April 2020