We have dedicated staff who make sure our employees and volunteers treat you safely and appropriately whenever they work with you.
If you are worried about your safety, you can contact us using the details provided at the bottom of the page . We take all concerns seriously and will follow up on anything you share about your safety or wellbeing, including if you have been harmed or treated improperly by someone who works with us.
If someone is in danger right now, please call police on 000.
Our commitment to you
We are committed to your safety, wellbeing, and dignity. We will always treat you with respect, protect you from harm, and create a welcoming environment free from assumptions. We encourage you to speak up, will listen carefully, take your concerns seriously, and act when needed, including reporting where required. We aim to identify and reduce risks to your safety.
We respect and support your culture, family, and community connections, working together with you to achieve the best outcomes. We will understand your individual challenges, communicate clearly, support your participation, and continually improve how we work to better meet your needs.
Our commitment to child safety
We are committed to safeguarding the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people. We strive to prevent any form of harm and maintain zero tolerance for racism, abuse, and inequality. We recognise and respect the rights, relationships, identity, and culture of children and young people, ensuring their voices are heard and their concerns are taken seriously. Our goal is to create a culturally safe, child-safe, and welcoming environment for every child and young person we engage with, support, or impact through our work.
Our Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
This policy explains how the department makes sure all children and young people are safe and looked after. It applies to any child we work with, provide services to, or affected through our work.
The policy also helps the department follow the law about keeping children safe.
It applies to everyone who works with the department, whether they are paid or not. This includes staff, volunteers, contractors and students.
This policy should be read together with other important rules and laws, such as government policies, the department’s own rules about behaviour, and laws about child safety.
The policy explains:
- what each person’s job is in keeping children safe
- how the department makes sure children are cared for properly
- what to do if someone is worried about a child’s safety
- how to share important information safely
- how to keep records and notes properly
- ways the department can show it is keeping children safe
- what happens if someone does not follow these rules
Roles and Responsibilities
Our department must follow important rules to help keep children safe. These rules come from a law called the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act.
These rules include:
- Child Safe Standards – making sure places are safe for children
- Reportable Conduct Scheme – making sure adults behave appropriately around children
- The Department Secretary (the person in charge) must make sure these rules are followed
What everyone must do
All workers must:
- Understand and follow this policy
- Speak up and report if they see something wrong or unsafe
What managers must do
Managers must:
- Make sure their team has read and understands the policy
- Check that their team is following the policy
- Encourage people to report concerns, especially if a child might be unsafe
What the Integrity & Ethical Behaviour team does
This team:
- Creates and updates the policy
- Checks that the department is following the policy properly
Reporting harm, abuse and other child safety and wellbeing concerns
Reportable Conduct can be about:
- something our staff members or volunteers did that happened at their work
- something our staff members or volunteers did outside of their work — at home, in the community or in a different workplace
- something that happened before they worked for the department.
What is reportable conduct?
What does “reportable conduct” mean?
Reportable conduct is when an adult (like a worker or volunteer) does something wrong that could harm a child. A child is anyone under 18 years old.
What kinds of behaviour are included?
It includes things like:
- Hurting a child’s body (physical harm)
- Treating a child badly or making them feel scared, sad, or upset (emotional harm)
- Not taking proper care of a child (neglect)
- Acting in a way that is not safe or appropriate with a child
- Trying to build a secret or inappropriate relationship with a child (sometimes called grooming)
What does “harm” mean?
Harm means anything that hurts a child’s:
- Health
- Safety
- Feelings or wellbeing
Harm can happen:
- From one single event, or
- Over time, when smaller things keep happening again and again
It can include:
- Physical harm (to the body)
- Emotional or psychological harm (to feelings and thoughts)
- Harm caused by adults or even by other children
How to report allegations of reportable conduct
If someone is in danger right now, please call police on 000.
Where an allegation involves an employee or contractor of the department, any suspicion of misconduct can be reported to the Integrity and Ethical Behaviour team:
By telephone:
Manager, Ethical Behaviour on 0448 919 825
By email:
Any suspicion or knowledge of misconduct can also be reported to the Social Services Regulator and the Commission for Children and Young People.
Further guidance is available on the website of the Social Services Regulator.
Further guidance is available on the website of the Commission for Children and Young People(opens in a new window).
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