Negative notice holders
If you have a negative notice, you cannot apply for or hold a blue card.
A negative notice does not expire. It stays in effect unless it is cancelled.
You may get a negative notice if:
- you are, or become, a disqualified person
- a risk assessment finds that you pose a risk to the safety of children.
Your obligations as a negative notice holder
If you have a negative notice, you are a restricted person.
You cannot:
- start or continue in regulated child-related work
- run a regulated child-related business
- work or volunteer in restricted employment.
If you do any of these things, you are committing an offence. We may ask the police to investigate.
Serious penalties apply, including terms of imprisonment.
Employer organisation obligations
Employer organisations must not:
- start or continue employing a negative notice holder in regulated child-related work
- engage a negative notice holder in restricted employment.
If an employer organisation does either of these things, it is committing an offence. We may ask the police to investigate.
Serious penalties apply. These may include imprisonment.
Applying to cancel a negative notice
You cannot apply for a blue card while a negative notice is in effect.
You may be able to apply to cancel your negative notice if:
- you are not a disqualified person, and
- the sit-out period has ended.
Other limited circumstances apply. For example, you may be able to apply if you were found not guilty of a charge that was pending when the negative notice was issued.
Applying to cancel a negative notice does not cancel it.
We must complete a risk assessment before deciding to cancel your negative notice.
If your negative notice is cancelled
If we cancel your negative notice:
- we will tell you
- you will no longer be a restricted person
- we will invite you to apply for a blue card.
If your negative notice is not cancelled
if we decide not to cancel your negative notice:
- your negative notice will remain in effect
- you will remain a restricted person
- you may be able to ask to QCAT to review the decision.
Sit-out periods
The sit-out period is the time you must wait before you can apply to cancel a negative notice.
Decisions made before 20 September 2025
The sit-out period is 2 years.
It starts on the date the decision was made.
Decisions made after 20 September 2025
The sit-out period is 3 years.
It starts on either:
- the date the decision was made
- the date the decision was confirmed on appeal.
Reviewing a decision we have made
You can ask the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) to review a decision to:
- issue a negative notice
- refuse an application to cancel a negative notice.
You must apply to QCAT within 28 days of getting the decision.
Support resources
You may find these resources helpful:
- Application to cancel a negative notice
- Journey map: Negative notice
- Journey map: Changes to assessable information
- Submission response form - Application to cancel Negative Notice
- QCAT appeal process: Your right to review fact sheet
- Fact sheet: How to make a submission
- Approval to contact Blue Card Services form
- Approval to discuss confidential information with Blue Card Services form
More information
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