Implementing Child Safe Standards in the ACT

From 1 August 2024 organisations providing services to children and young people in the ACT have to implement the ACT Child safe standards.

The Child Safe Standards ensure that organisations providing services to children and young people are taking steps to ensure their services are child safe, child aware and child friendly.

The Child Safe Standards are:

• 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.

The ACT Child safe standards are based on the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

A complaint might be about:

• young people not being adequately listened to or involved in decisions about their health care
• young people not being involved in developing policies or procedures that affect them at school, in sport, in community groups for children and young people
• young people being yelled at, bullied or coerced in sporting clubs, holiday activities, at school
• the needs of multicultural, LGBTIQ+ and disabled young people not being taken into account in delivering services to children and young people

If you want to make a complaint about an organisation or agency not complying with the Standards you can fill in the Make a complaint form or contact us.

If you cannot write the complaint down you can call and we can assist you to write the complaint down.

To make a complaint you must give us your name and contact details.