What to look for in a child safe organisation

Participating in activities, services or programs is an important part of life for children and young people. As a parent or carer, you have a right to feel confident that your child is safe when engaging with an organisation.

This guidance suggests what you can look for and the questions you can ask, when deciding whether an organisation is safe and right for your child.

What is a child safe organisation

A child safe organisation takes deliberate steps to protect children from harm and abuse. It puts children’s safety and wellbeing first and is committed to child safety in every aspect of the organisation.

In Victoria there are child safety laws that protect children from harm and abuse in the organisations they engage with. These laws include the Child Safe Standards. Most organisations working with children must have policies and procedures in place to show they are following the Child Safe Standards and keeping children safe.

In this guidance, an organisation is any business or group that works or volunteers with children.

Learn more about the Child Safe Standards.

How can I decide if an organisation is safe for my child

You can ask questions to better understand their child safety approach. It’s your right. A child safe organisation should welcome questions and want to show you that they put children’s safety first.

Before your child joins an organisation

Research the organisation. Is child safety information available on their website? If you can, speak to other parents or carers who have been involved in the organisation. What are their views?

Ask to see the organisation’s child safety policies and procedures. This will tell you about an organisation’s approach to child safety. For example, an organisation should be able to show you their:

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy (or equivalent)
• Code of Conduct
• Complaint Handling Policy
• Risk Management Policy or Plan
• Recruitment and Screening Policy.

Tips when reading policies:

• Does the Code of Conduct describe behaviours that are appropriate and not appropriate for workers and volunteers with children?
• Is there a clear process for workers, parents and children to raise a concern or make a complaint if they need to?
• Are there processes for responding to concerns raised about child safety?
• Are workers and volunteers required to have a valid Working with Children Check, as well as other relevant checks, such as background or reference checks?
• Do any of their policies include rules and expectations about taking photos or videos of children?
• What is their policy on online communication with children (where applicable)?

You should also consider if the organisation:

• provides regular child safety training to staff and volunteers to help them recognise and respond to child abuse
• has processes to meet your child’s individual needs, for example, any disability or cultural needs
• encourages children to engage in decisions that affect them
• regularly involves parents and carers. Child safe organisations are more likely to involve parents, carers and children in decisions that affect them.

Visiting the organisation

If you can, visit at different times to get a good idea of how the organisation runs.

Consider:

• Do you and your child feel welcome in the organisation?
• Are staff and volunteers interested and engaged with the children?
• Does the physical environment appear safe? For example, can children be seen and are they always supervised.
• Do equipment and activities appear appropriate for the age of the children?
• Is there information on display about child safety and how to raise a concern?

Talk with your child

Children experience the world differently to adults. It’s important to talk to your child about what they think and how they feel after the visit. You could ask them:

• What did you like about ‘______’?
• What did you not like about ‘______’?
• Did you feel welcome?
• Is there anything about the visit that you would like to talk about?

After joining the organisation

It’s important to ensure the organisation you have chosen for your child continues to provide a safe environment for them. The organisation’s child safety policies and processes should be apparent in their everyday actions, decisions and behaviours.

Tips:

Keep in touch with the organisation

• Get to know staff and volunteers.
• Follow updates on their social media or other external communications.

Get involved if you can

• Volunteer.
• Attend meetings or get involved in committees.
• Participate in reviews of child safety policies.

Continue to speak with your child

• Teach them about body boundaries in age-appropriate language.
• Help them to speak up about their rights including their rights to speak up if they feel unsafe.
• Have conversations with them about what to do if they feel unsafe.

Self-employed people who may work or volunteer with my child

Your child may have a tutor, music teacher, counsellor, babysitter or other self-employed professional that you pay directly or access as a volunteer. As a parent or carer, there are things you can do to help you decide if that person is safe and suitable to work with your child. For example:

• Making sure you complete a reference check. You may want to call the organisation connected to the referee to confirm they are who they say they are.
• Check if an individual has a current and valid Working with Children Check. Visit Working with Children Check Victoria’s website for more information.
• Asking people you know and trust for recommendations.
• Supervising their contact with your child where possible.
• Speaking to your child about how they feel when they are with the person.

If your safety checks raise any concerns or issues, you can ask the individual for more information or raise your concerns with them. However, you do not have to select them to work your child if you are not sure about their suitability.

I have a concern about child safety in an organisation

If you think a crime has been committed, or if you think a child is in immediate risk of harm, contact Victoria Police on triple zero (000).

In most cases, it is best to respectfully raise any concerns directly with the organisation. Be clear about the issues you want to discuss and how you would like the matter to be resolved. Organisations should have a complaint handling process, and they should be able to explain this process to you. Often, this information can also be found on their website. If you are not satisfied that it is a suitable environment for your child, you may need to consider alternative options.

If you don’t believe an organisation has been responsive to your child safety concerns, this could be a sign that they are not complying with the Child Safe Standards. You can report these concerns to the Social Services Regulator or to a Child Safe Standards Co-Regulator (depending on the type of organisation).

For some organisations, allegations about a worker or volunteer may also be reportable conduct under the Reportable Conduct Scheme. More information for parents and carers about the Reportable Conduct Scheme can be found on our the Information for parents and carers, children and victim survivors webpage.

More information

You can find more information about the Child Safe Standards, Reportable Conduct Scheme and other child safety schemes on the Social Services Regulator website.

The National Office for Child Safety has a toolkit to help parents and carers have conversations with organisations about their child safety practices. They also have information about grooming behaviour including the signs of grooming and what to do about suspected grooming.

Sport Integrity Australia have resources for how to support and protect your child in sport, including a checklist for selecting a safe sport club.

Download the Child Safe Standards Resource