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    Religious Organisations

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Safeguarding Experts

Religious Organisations and Faith Communities

Religious organisations have a fundamental legal and moral obligation to ensure that children, young people and vulnerable members of their community are safe and protected from harm. From churches, mosques, synagogues and temples to faith-based schools, youth groups and charities, faith communities must create cultures of safety where people can worship, gather and participate without fear of abuse or harm.

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Children and young people have a right to feel safe and be safe in every faith setting. Abuse in religious institutions can cause long-term trauma and damage trust in the whole community. Religious organisations must take active steps to comply with their duty of care, embed child safety into their culture and respond appropriately when concerns are raised.
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Reportable Conduct Scheme

Expert legal services to religious organisations

Safe Space Legal provides expert child safety and safeguarding legal services to religious organisations including: churches, parishes and dioceses, mosques, synagogues, temples, religious orders, faith-based youth groups and camps, faith-based charities and community services.

Step by Step implementation

We work with religious organisations to address their safeguarding needs in a cost-effective and value focused manner. We ensure that we are always responsive, transparent and people-focused in our services, and support faith communities to implement our advice and recommendations.

Here when you need us

We are committed to providing religious organisations with professional guidance and support whenever they need it, from policy development and leadership training to responding to allegations and critical incidents.

Child Safety in Religious Organisations

Religious organisations hold a position of trust in the community. Leaders, clergy, staff and volunteers often have regular contact with children and young people through services, religious education, youth groups, camps and pastoral care. This trust brings a significant responsibility to keep children and young people safe from harm.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse examined how religious institutions responded to child sexual abuse and dedicated a volume of its Final Report to religious institutions. Since the Royal Commission, all states and territories have endorsed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, and many jurisdictions have enacted these principles into legislation through Child Safe Standards that apply to religious bodies.

Religious bodies are also captured by Reportable Conduct Schemes in jurisdictions including Victoria and New South Wales. These schemes require organisations to notify the relevant regulator of allegations of abuse or misconduct involving clergy, employees, volunteers and contractors, and to investigate those allegations. In Queensland, the Child Safe Standards apply to religious bodies from 1 April 2026.

In some jurisdictions, people in religious ministry are mandatory reporters. In Victoria, appointed, ordained or recognised religious or spiritual leaders of any faith must report a reasonable belief that a child is in need of protection from physical injury or sexual abuse.

The courts continue to expand institutional liability for abuse. In AA v Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, the High Court held that the Diocese breached a non-delegable duty of care owed to a child sexually assaulted by a priest, confirming that institutions can be liable for abuse committed by people acting under their authority.

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Our Services

Child Safety Policies

Developing child safety policies, codes of conduct, and complaints handling processes for religious organisations

Child Safety Investigations

Independent, trauma-informed investigations compliant with Reportable Conduct Schemes, including historical allegations

Audits

Audits and gap analysis against the Child Safe Standards with practical recommendations for faith communities

Child Safety Training

Tailored child safety training for clergy, leaders, staff and volunteers, including mandatory reporting obligations

Legal Advice

Expert safeguarding legal advice for religious organisations, including regulatory matters and institutional liability

Incident Management

Root cause analyses of critical child safety incidents with crisis management and regulatory compliance support