How do I know whether an organisation is child safe?
Many organisations in Australia are already taking important steps to ensure child safety and wellbeing. These steps might include, for example, assessing and screening employees and volunteers for suitability to work with children, and meeting child safe requirements under state or territory laws.
A child’s family and community members are an important part of their protective network. They should feel empowered and comfortable speaking to organisations about what policies and practices are in place to keep children safe, and what mechanisms exist for children, parents or carers to raise questions or concerns.
The National Principles for Child Safe Organisations emphasise the importance of organisations making information about their child safe policies and practices easily accessible for children, families and communities. National Principles 2 and 3 highlight the need for children and their families to be given opportunities to provide feedback and get involved in refining those policies and practices.
You can use the Guide for parents and carers when deciding whether your children may become involved with an organisation. Organisations may not meet everything identified in this guide and it is not a comprehensive list. However, the guide will provide you with some important issues to think about, look for and ask about before, during and after your initial visit or query. The guide encourages you to keep informed and involved, and to keep speaking with your children and the organisation about safety issues.
Download the Guide for parents and carers:
To read the Guide for parents and carers in different community languages, see the National Office for Child Safety web page.
