Implementing the Child Safe Standards
From August 2024, all providers of services for children and young people will need to start implementing the Child Safe Standards. This is part of the ACT Government’s ongoing commitment to improving the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people and increase their protection from harm and abuse.
The ACT Human Rights Commission will lead implementation of the Child Safe Standards Scheme on behalf of the ACT Government. We will support organisations to build their capability to become a child safe organisation and show continuous improvement over time. This support will include providing tools, resources, and training to build on the child safety measures that organisations already have in place.
Oversight of the Child Safe Standards Scheme’s implementation will be risk-based and focus on education and capacity building rather than compliance and enforcement.
There are ten Child Safe Standards, and they are all equally important:
- Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.
- Children and young people are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them, and are taken seriously.
- Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
- Equity is upheld and diverse needs are respected in policy and practice.
- People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
- Processes to respond to complaints and concerns are child focused.
- Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
- Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
- An organisation’s implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.
- An organisation’s policies and procedures document how the organisation is safe for children and young people.
Child Safe Organisations ensure children feel safe and are safe
When organisations put actions in place to be child safe, they help build a place where children are valued and feel safer, and where abuse of children is better prevented, responded to, and reported. Being a child safe organisation will help us all create a world where children and young people can both be safe and feel safe.
All staff and volunteers providing services for children and young people will need to understand their role in helping their organisation put the standards into action. This includes those staff and volunteers who do not need to have a Working with Vulnerable People registration for their job.
The Standards will help organisations to improve the way they uphold children and young people’s human rights, in addition to improving systems and processes that improve the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.
While there is no set timeframe for meeting all the Standards, all organisations should start thinking about how the Standards will change the way they do things in their service and start actioning these changes.
Resources for organisations
We are working on resources to help organisations implement the Standards and will update this section soon.
Contact us or send us a message
If you have questions about how implementing the Child Safe Standards might affect your organisation, you can telephone us on 02 6205 2222 or send us an email.