What are the Child Safe Standards?
In 2016, the Victorian Government introduced the Child Safe Standards (the standards). The standards are compulsory for all organisations that provide services or facilities to children and are designed to assist organisations to prevent child abuse, encourage the reporting of abuse and improve responses to allegations of child abuse.
For more information about whether or not your organisation is required to comply with the standards, visit the Commission for Children and Young People’s website (External link)
The role of the Commission for Children and Young People
The Commission for Children and Young People is responsible for overseeing and enforcing organisations’ compliance with the standards.
It does this by:
- working with organisations and relevant authorities to build their capacity to be a child safe organisation
- contacting organisations and their relevant authorities if they have concerns about compliance
- taking compliance action if necessary, and
- liaising with organisations, relevant authorities and regulators to provide education and advice.
The Department of Justice and Community Safety as a relevant authority
When the Department of Justice and Community Safety (the department) funds or regulates an organisation required to comply with the standards, either through grants, service agreements or other contractual arrangements, it becomes a relevant authority for that organisation.
Your organisation may have more than one relevant authority and who your relevant authority is may change depending on your funding arrangements and regulatory framework.
Relevant authorities are responsible for supporting organisations to be compliant with the standards. When the department is a relevant authority, it may request information or documents from your organisation to help it determine whether or not it is complying with the standards.
Your obligations
If your organisation is required to comply with the standards and you receive funding from the department, you must be able to demonstrate your compliance with the standards to the department. This may be at the time of your application for a grant, or once the grant has been received.
The department may do this by asking you to provide evidence of your compliance with the standards, or by confirming that your organisation is compliant with the standards and providing an explanation of how you are compliant.
Compliance with the standards will be a condition of your grant.
If you have questions about compliance in relation to your grant, email communitycrimeprevention@justice.vic.gov.au (External link)