What should a Club Children's or Welfare Officer track?

Researched and reviewed: 12 August 2026 · Scheduled review by: 12 February 2027

Important: This is general information, not legal advice or a determination that any club or person is compliant. Check current legislation and your governing body's rules.

Short answer: track enough to show which people occupy relevant roles, which current requirements apply, whether the required process is complete, when it must be reviewed and who confirmed the record. Do not collect disclosure details or identity documents merely because a spreadsheet has space for them.

A useful operational register

• Person and current club role.
• Team or activity, where needed to establish the applicable requirement.
• Required vetting, training, membership or qualification categories.
• Status, completion date, review date and confirming authority.
• Last follow-up and the authorised user who verified a change.

Role boundaries matter

Sport Ireland describes the Club Children's Officer as child-centred and responsible for monitoring and reporting how club policy affects young people and sports leaders. It describes the Designated Liaison Person as the person responsible for dealing with child-protection concerns and reporting where appropriate. Some NGBs use different titles; the IRFU, for example, sets out responsibilities for Club Welfare Officers.

Minimise personal data

The Data Protection Commission says personal data must be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary. It also recommends need-to-know access and regular access reviews. The compliance register should not become a store for disclosure content, identity-document copies or unrelated personal notes unless the club has separately established that the collection is necessary, lawful and appropriately protected.