NI adds enhanced checks for restorative justice roles

If you are training or volunteering in restorative practice in Northern Ireland, a small but important change lands on 17 February 2026. The Department of Justice has made new regulations that extend when an enhanced criminal record check can be used and clarify what extra “suitability” information can be included. The Statutory Rule was made on 3 February 2026 and published on legislation.gov.uk.

In plain language, an enhanced criminal record certificate is the most detailed check available through AccessNI. It can include spent and unspent convictions, certain police-held information relevant to the role, and-where legally allowed-barred list status. That is different from a basic or standard check, which does not go as far. nidirect’s guide to AccessNI checks explains these levels in simple terms.

The new rule adds a fresh legal purpose for requesting an enhanced certificate: to consider someone’s suitability to act as a restorative justice practitioner. For this purpose, adults’ barred list information can also be included where required, so an organisation can see if an applicant is legally barred from working with vulnerable adults. Earlier amending regulations show how “suitability information” operates in practice and how the adults’ barred list is switched on for specific roles.

Who counts as a “restorative justice practitioner” here? The Department of Justice created a Practice Standards and Accreditation Framework in October 2025. If you are working towards accreditation or hiring someone to facilitate restorative processes, this is the benchmark you are measured against-and the new check is designed to sit alongside it.

There is a second, very practical tweak. The regulations extend eligibility for an enhanced check to people under the age of 16 if they live in the same household as hosts under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme. Central government guidance already requires councils to carry out enhanced checks on household members aged 16 and over in many scenarios; Northern Ireland is now creating a route to check younger household members where hosting arrangements make that necessary for safeguarding.

For those of you learning how laws are made, the change amends the 2008 Disclosure Regulations at three points: regulation 9 (the list of “prescribed purposes”), regulation 9B (when suitability or barred-list information is included), and regulation 12 (who is eligible for an enhanced check). The Assembly’s Justice Committee noted the proposal in December 2025, and the Department has now confirmed commencement for 17 February 2026.

When you see “suitability information” in this context, think “barred list status”. Regulated activity with children or adults is restricted to people who are not barred. The Department of Justice’s overview explains how the barred lists work and why some roles require both an enhanced check and a barred-list check before anyone starts.

If you are applying or recruiting, build in time for the countersignature process through an AccessNI-registered organisation. Remember that Northern Ireland’s filtering and review rules limit the disclosure of some old, minor information and allow people to challenge certain police disclosures-important safeguards for fairness as well as safety.

Teachers and students often ask how this compares to the rest of the UK. A useful comparison point is that England and Wales also update their lists of roles eligible for enhanced and barred-list checks by regulation; for example, 2025 rules extended eligibility for specific transport and health roles from 21 January 2026. Different jurisdictions tweak the list in different ways, but the safeguarding logic is shared.

What this means for you now: if you plan to practise restorative justice work in Northern Ireland, expect an enhanced check that may include adults’ barred list status. If you are hosting under Homes for Ukraine and your household includes younger teenagers, there is now a legal route to carry out an enhanced check for them where safeguarding requires it. If you are unsure which level of check applies, ask your organisation’s safeguarding lead or AccessNI before you begin.