RTOs - suitable staff and volunteers

About the Standard

RTOs are required to inform staff and volunteers about:

They must also have child safety policies and procedures for staff and volunteer:

RTOs must make sure staff and volunteers are aware of their reporting procedures for child safety issues.

An RTO must be able to provide evidence of:

policies and procedures that specify that all staff and volunteers are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of children
staff and volunteer onboarding that includes:
- child safety referee checks
- pre-employment screening
- recruitment recordkeeping
- information sharing
- mandatory reporting requirements
how the organisation monitors or updates records to make sure staff and volunteers have current Working with Children Checks
how the supervision of staff and volunteers focuses on child safety and wellbeing.

An RTO complying with this Standard may have:

publicly available policy and procedures that show the recruitment and onboarding requirements for staff and volunteers
a business plan or strategy to make sure staff and volunteer supervision focuses on child safety and wellbeing
recruitment, induction or performance reviews for new or existing staff and volunteers
a record management system that stores:
- Working With Children Check information and expiry dates
- completed pre-employment checks
- other recruitment screening documents.

In complying with Child Safe Standard 6, an organisation must, at a minimum, ensure:
- recruitment, including advertising, referee checks and staff and volunteer pre-employment screening, emphasise child safety and wellbeing
- relevant staff and volunteers have current working with children checks or equivalent background checks
- all staff and volunteers receive an appropriate induction and are aware of their responsibilities to children and young people, including record keeping, information sharing and reporting obligations
- ongoing supervision and people management is focused on child safety and wellbeing.
- The Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) — provides support for the Child Safe Standards including a 'Guide for creating a Child Safe Organisation' which has extensive guidance on recruitment and selection processes, screening, supervision, training, development and performance monitoring of staff and volunteers that support child safety.
- The Department of Education provides guidance for schools on selecting and supporting people working with children.

Reviewed 13 January 2023