Child Safe Standards: Information for Board and Committee Members
The role of keeping children and young people safe in an organisation is not just the responsibility of one person. Every person – from volunteers, employees, management, to board and committee members – has a role to play.
Board and committee members have a significant role to play in promoting and modelling child safety within institutions. Board members must understand the Child Safe Standards (Standards), so they can best support the organisation to implement and comply with the Standards. The Standards apply to organisations who provide services to children and young people in Victoria. Each state and territory across Australia have different laws and obligations in relation to child safety, however the role of those in governance is constant.
What are the Child Safe Standards?
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Royal Commission) issued its final report on 15 December 2017. The Royal Commission recommended that 10 Child Safe Standards be implemented by all organisations providing services to children and young people. The Child Safe Standards have been adopted by all states and territories across Australia, termed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
There are 10 National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (Principles). The Principles are aimed at providing a uniform approach across Australia to organisations providing a safe environment for children and young people. The National Office of Child Safety works with State and Territory governments to ensure they are supporting the organisations within their jurisdiction to implement the Principles.
Victorian Child Safety Standards
The Victorian Child Safe Standards closely mirror the Principles, with the exception that the Victorian standards include an additional Standard that organisations must “establish a culturally safe environment” and ensure that “Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued”. To be considered a child safe environment in Victoria, organisations should be implementing and complying with the eleven Standards
The Role of Board and Committee Members
Board and committee members are in a unique position to promote and model a child safe environment. It is fundamental that board and committee members are aware of the relevant legal obligations, so that they can better assist the organisation to meet its obligations. Furthermore, by understanding the Standards, risk can be identified and mitigated. Board and Committee members must ensure that organisations are taking proper steps to identify and mitigate risk, including by implementing policies that comply with the Standards.
Board and Committee members must ensure that Child Safety is a priority including that they are informed about:
- The implementation of the Standards across the organisation.
- Compliance with the Standards.
- Any allegations of harm towards a child or young person within the organisation and the outcome.
- Ongoing training and education needs of staff and volunteers
- Ensuring that commitments to child safety are properly financed so that policies and procedures can be implemented across the organisation
Child safety should be a standing agenda item during board and committee meetings to ensure that it continues to be prioritised. This can assist the board and committee members to make any necessary improvements to their policies and procedures. The NSW Ombudsman has published a Guide for Board and Committee Members, which provides the following practical tips:
- ‘Establish a child safe governance framework’
- ‘Address conflicts of interest to promote accountability and trust’
- ‘Embed a risk management approach’
- ‘Develop and embed child safe policies and procedures’
- ‘Foster a culture of child safety’
Board and committee members often come from a variety of backgrounds and may not have child safety knowledge to mitigate risk. Training is a valuable risk mitigation tool, including for those in board and committee member positions so that those roles understand and comply with their obligations.
How can Safe Space Legal Help?
Safe Space Legal has extensive experience supporting boards and committees to ensure that they are meeting their child safety obligations. We support organisations by:
- Drafting best practice child safety policies, procedures and codes of conduct;
- Conducting gap analysis audits of critical incidents;
- Providing training on legal obligations, duty of care and child safety including governance training;
- Conducting child safety investigations which are compliant with relevant state and territory schemes; and
- Provide sound legal advice on risk mitigation.
Contact office@safespacelegal.com.au or call (03) 9124 7321 to organise a complementary discussion in relation to your organisation’s safeguarding needs.