Child Safe Standards and Reportable Conduct Scheme information has moved to this site.
Responsibility transferred to SSR from the Commission for Children and Young People in February 2026.
Overview
The 11 Child Safe Standards are a set of mandatory requirements that promote the safety of children, prevent child abuse, and ensure organisations have effective processes in place to respond to and report all allegations of abuse. They form a part of Victoria’s child safety schemes.
The Child Safe Standards work by:
- embedding child safety in everyday thinking and practice
- providing a minimum standard of child safety across all organisations
- highlighting that we all have a role to keep children safe from abuse.
For those required to comply, the Child Safe Standards are law and are mandatory within Victoria. Organisations must comply with all aspects of the Child Safe Standards at all times.
Our Guide for creating a Child Safe Organisation has detailed information and advice on how to comply with each Standard.
For an overview of all the Child Safe Standards and requirements, please see the Short guide to the Child Safe Standards.
Why the Child Safe Standards matter
The Child Safe Standards exist to prevent child abuse and harm from happening in organisations.
All children have the right to feel safe and be safe, but safety does not just happen. We all have an obligation to do the best we can to keep children safe from harm and abuse.
Two Australian inquiries into the abuse of children in organisations have shown the devastating harm done to children when organisations do not have the right culture, systems, processes and understanding to prevent abuse. These were the Victorian Parliamentary Betrayal of Trust Inquiry and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The Child Safe Standards provides a mandatory and consistent framework for organisations engaging in child-related work, regardless of size, structure, resources and the types of interactions that occur between workers or volunteers and children.
Reducing the risk of child abuse and harm and improving responses to child safety concerns means we are creating safer environments for children and young people across Victoria.
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