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.
Organisations in Victoria are usually required to comply with the Child Safe Standards if they do one or more of the following:
- provide any services specifically for children
- provide any facilities specifically for use by children who are under the organisation’s supervision
- engage a child as a contractor, employee or volunteer to assist the organisation in providing services, facilities, or in providing or producing goods.
Providing services ‘specifically for children’ or, providing facilities ‘specifically for use by children under the organisation’s supervision’ means that some or all of the services, programs, or facilities it provides, must be particularly directed at or offered for children, or have particular or special application to children. It does not mean that the organisation or business solely provides services for children or provides facilities only to children.
For example, a gym that provides an equipment area and classes to adults over 18, also provides gymnastics classes to children. The gym is therefore required to comply with the Child Safe Standards as it provides some programs to children.
A child is considered anyone under 18 years.
Organisations covered by the Reportable Conduct Scheme are also required to comply with the Child Safe Standards.
Categories of organisations and businesses that are required to comply
Certain organisation types are required to comply with the Child Safe Standards. These categories of organisations and businesses are listed in Schedule 1 of the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 (the Act).
A summary is provided below and you can find more information in the Act. Each category has been placed under the associated Child Safe Standards co-regulator.
The specific circumstances of your organisation may mean you have more than one co-regulator or a different co-regulator to what is listed below.
For more information on the role of co-regulators and the Child Safe Standards visit our webpage on how the Child Safe Standards are regulated.
If an organisation or business comes under one of the above categories, it is required to comply with the Child Safe Standards unless it does not do any of the following:
- provide any services specifically for children, or
- provide any facilities specifically for use by children who are under the organisation’s supervision, or
- engage (whether paid or unpaid) a child as a contractor, employee or volunteer to assist the organisation in providing services or facilities or in producing or providing goods.
If an organisation or business is required to comply with the Reportable Conduct Scheme it is required to comply with the Child Safe Standards regardless of the above exemptions.
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