The National Higher Education Code to Prevent And Respond to Gender-Based Violence was established by the Federal Government earlier this year and is due to come into effect on January 1, 2026. 

Arc has been consulting with UNSW administration to ensure that we, and by extension, all Arc-affiliated Clubs adhere to the new requirements of the Code, and as such, we require all Arc-affiliated clubs and their executives to agree to, and sign an updated Affiliation Agreement that is aligned with the changes as outlined under the Code.  

The updates to the Affiliation Agreement include, but are not limited to: 

• Enforced compliance with all UNSW & Arc Policies with relation to Gender-Based Violence 

• All Executives are required to complete mandatory training as per Arc requirements, and that any member of a club that participates in high-risk activities (such as camps, overnight events, mentoring roles or anyone with direct responsibility for participant safety) also complete the Gender-Based Violence training. 

• Ensure that any club member (including, but not limited to executives, directors, subcommittee, camp leaders, trainers or coaches, or any other person in a leadership position) when engaged with ‘child-related work’ holds a valid Working With Children Check (WWCC) at all times. 

• Maintain accurate records of WWCC clearances and provide them to Arc and UNSW upon request for compliance and auditing purposes.  

• Keep records of completed mandatory training and provide them to Arc upon request for compliance monitoring or audits. 

• Any breach of Arc or UNSW policies by an Affiliated Club or its members may result in disciplinary action, including (but not limited to) suspension, disaffiliation and/or referral of the matter to the UNSW Conduct and Integrity Office for investigation. 

It is mandatory for all Arc-affiliated clubs and their executives, to sign this new Affiliation Agreement and complete their Gender-Based Violence Training in Moodle prior to O-Week 2026. Failure to do so will result in the disaffiliation of your club from Arc. 

Clubs and their Executives that we have identified require a WWCC have been notified separately in an email, alongside a link on how to obtain their clearance. Anyone who wishes to obtain a WWCC may do so by following the link below, regardless of whether your club is listed.  

How to comply with the new requirements

The new Affiliation Agreement can be found here

Please fill out the form by listing all elected Executive for 2026 and have them sign the Affiliation Agreement. We will not accept initials as signatures and signatures must be made by the Executive in question. We will be comparing signatures, and the list of Executive provided in the Affiliation Agreements signed by Executive as part of your reaffiliation to confirm that these signatures and the list of Executive are legitimate. It is your responsibility as Executive to ensure this is done correctly – if we spot an error, we will notify you to fix the errors but will not extend the deadline.  

Once you've completed the Affiliation Agreement, please submit it here:

Sign into Rubric

Go to Forms -> Affiliation Processes -> Clubs Affiliation Agreement Form

Gender-Based Violence Training 

You can log-in and complete the Gender-Based Violence online training via Moodle. The link, and further information is available here:  

https://www.arc.unsw.edu.au/clubs/club-forms/agms-and-reaffiliation-resources/club-executives-training 

The deadline for completing this training has been extended to 19 January 2026, to align the deadline for the Affiliation Agreement. 

Working With Children Check 

To obtain your free Working With Children Check please go to this website and follow the instructions: 

Apply for a Working with Children Check | Service NSW 

Timeline

Below is a timeline of requirements for Clubs and their Executives with regards to the changes: 

Today – Notice, and a link to the updated Agreement and where to submit has been provided as a link within this email. A link to the Working With Children Check Application has been provided, and a link to the Gender-Based Violence Training (Online Training) has also been provided. 

January 18 – All executives of each club must have signed the new Affiliation Agreement, submitted it via Rubric, and completed the Gender-Based Violence Training via Moodle. Failure to do so by this date will result in the removal of your club from O-Week 2026, and the refund of your deposit. 

January 27 – All executives of each club must have done all of the above and if required by Arc, sought to obtain their WWCC. Failure to do so by this date will result in the immediate disaffiliation of your club to Arc. 

O-Week 2026 – Any clubs or executives that attend O-Week without having completed these requirements will be informed of their disaffiliation and will not be allocated a stall, be asked to leave the site, and be directed to not set up a stall or engage with students that week. Arc Clubs Staff will be performing spot-checks on relevant clubs to determine if their executives have their WWCC check, or are in the process of obtaining it. Clubs with Executives that have been found to not have a WWCC or are not in the process of obtaining one will be told to immediately close their O-Week stall until such time as they start the process of obtaining one via the NSW Government website, and will not be allowed to reopen their stall until such time as they obtain proof that they have sought to obtain their WWCC.

Extensions will only be granted in exceptional circumstances and if you require one you must notify us of this prior to January 18th 2026. Any requests for extensions after this date will be denied.

Arc wishes to ensure that our Clubs that are affiliated with Arc not only adhere to the Code but are places of safety for all its members and their guests, and we look forward to working with clubs to ensure that this happens. 

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Q. This is too much. Why are you doing this? 

A. We understand that the timing of this is not ideal, but it is a requirement under the new National Code that was brought into law by the Federal Government and supported by UNSW and Arc. We do not want to add to your workload, but these steps are necessary to ensure your (and our) compliance with the new system. Ultimately, the purpose of these changes is to take steps to ensure the safety of all university students and to create a safe space for them to study and to have fun.

Q. I need an extension. Can I get one?

A. Yes, you can obtain an extension if you email us at clubs@arc.unsw.edu.au prior to January 18th, 2026. 

Working With Children Check (WWCC)

Q. Who needs to complete the WWCC? 

A. Clubs have been emailed their requirements already. For clubs that have been told to obtain WWCC, this means your Executive, and any other people in a position of leadership who could work with people under 18 must obtain a WWCC. Clubs must determine themselves who this applies to. For example, if you have subcommittee that do work with minors, then they do need to, but the other subcommittee don't need to. 

Q. Why do I need to obtain a WWCC if I am an Executive, but I am not in charge of events or activities that involve minors?

A. Executive are the office-bearers of the Association and ultimately, are the ones legally responsible for their club and its members. Holding a WWCC protects you if something unexpected happens, and generally speaking, if you are an Executive the likelihood of you interacting with anyone, including people aged under 18, are substantially higher than others within your society. Furthermore, you do not want to have to sit out events or activities at short notice because someone under 18 has decided to attend your event and you do not have a WWCC. Finally, when Arc does its spot checks, it is you, the Executive, that we will be speaking to. If there has been an incident, and members of your Team do not have a WWCC the first question we will ask is why not, and this is not a question you will want us or the university asking you after we have told you to obtain one.

Q. Help! Various executives are overseas and cannot get back to Australia in order to submit this by the deadline!

A. We understand, and if this is the case, please email us at clubs@arc.unsw.edu.au prior to January 18 to request an extension.

Q. Can we just avoid getting a WWCC and enforce a rule that bans people under 18 from joining our club or attending our events? 

A. In short, no. Discriminating on the basis of age would mean you are breaching the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act and they could sue you. Furthermore, this would reflect poorly on your club within UNSW and the wider community if clubs became known for excluding people because of something they can't change. It would also look bad because it would signal to people that you are unwilling to ensure that your club is a safe space.

The only events where you should be preventing those who are under 18 from attending are events where drinking alcohol is a major aspect of the event, as this is protected by law.

Q. What if we just don't ask for their age when we hold an event?

A. You are not required to ask for their age; however, the lack of question would not protect you were an issue to arise. Arc recommends that for various events - in particular camps and other overnight events, you should be asking students their age/date of birth, so that you can take steps to obtain a WWCC if you need one. 

Q. We don't do any events with primary school or high school students. Why do we need to obtain a WWCC?

A. Assuming that all university students are over 18 is not correct. There are many university students that are under 18, just as there are high school students that are over 18. 

Q. Are WWCC from other Australian states and territories acceptable?

Yes, we will accept these.

Q. Do we need to provide you with proof of the WWCC once we have obtained it? 

A. No, you do not, however, you will need to provide us with proof if we request it. If you cannot provide proof within an acceptable timeframe, your club will have their affiliation suspended until such time as you can.

Q. What are the benefits of obtaining a WWCC?

A. Aside from it being a requirement for some clubs and their leaders, many jobs today require their staff and volunteers to obtain a WWCC, and it may be a bar to your employment if you do not obtain one. By obtaining one and mentioning this within your CV or on LinkedIn will signal to employers that you are committed to the safety of minors and may help you receive work more easily.

Gender Based Violence Training

Q. I have done the training before; do I need to do it again?

A. Yes, if you have not completed it within the last 12 months, you must do the training again.

Affiliation Agreement

Q. I don't have access to a printer or scanner and/or I'm overseas/interstate/live a long way from Sydney. How do I sign the form? 

A. To start, a member of your Executive Team should download the form and then upload it to your Club or Executive member's personal Google Drive/Sharepoint to ensure that you are not signing different versions of the same form or duplicates. Each Executive Member can then access the form in a centralised location to add their details and sign the Agreement.  

The Affiliation Agreement has been updated with fillable text boxes to write details for Name, zID, Executive Position, Phone Number and Date. In order to add a digital signature below, please follow the steps below. All Executive should have access to these tools on Adobe, as all UNSW students have access to it as part of your enrolment. If you submit using initials or your name typed out this will be rejected.