Child Safe workplace
Child Safeguarding
If you believe a child is in immediate danger call 000.
If you believe a child has experienced harm but there is no immediate danger and you believe their parent/guardian are not protecting them from that harm, contact:
The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing - Child Protection Crisis Line:
- Business hours: 1300 360 462
- After hours: 13 12 78
If you still hold concerns for a child’s wellbeing, contact:
- Orange Door on 1800 312 820
To get in touch with someone at Surf Coast Shire Council regarding issues of child safety, please contact us:
You can also contact the Commission for Children and Young People at contact@ccyp.vic.gov.au or call 03 8601 5884 (Monday to Friday).
Children and young people have a right to feel safe. We all have an obligation to keep all children safe from harm and abuse.
At Surf Coast Shire Council, we are continually working to ensure we have a child safe and friendly environment where children and young people are respected, valued and encouraged to reach their full potential.
We recognise that we all play an important role in protecting children, especially if we have concerns for a child’s safety. We aim to create a culture of child safety that reduces the opportunity for harm and have clear and robust processes to follow when someone raises concerns about child safety or reports abuse.
Surf Coast Shire’s Child Safe Commitment Statement
Surf Coast Shire is committed to being a child safe organisation and has zero tolerance for child abuse. The focus of our work is on children under the age of 18. We recognise our legal and moral responsibilities in keeping children and young people safe from harm and promoting their best interests.
We have a commitment to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, culturally and linguistically diverse children, and to the safety of gender diverse children and children with a disability. We aim to create enriching experiences for young learners and want children to feel safe, happy and empowered.
We have specific policies, procedures and training in place to support employees, volunteers and contractors to achieve these commitments. We create environments where all children have a voice and are listened to, their views are respected and they contribute to how we plan for, design and develop our services and activities.
The Child Safe Standards
Victoria’s Child Safe Standards are a set of mandatory requirements to protect children and young people from harm and abuse.
The Child Safe Standards aim to protect children and young people, by requiring organisations to put policies, procedures and processes in place to prevent and respond to abuse.
Victorian organisations that provide services or facilities to children, such as Surf Coast Shire, are required by law to implement Child Safe Standards in order to protect children from harm.
The Standards were established by the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005. The Standards address sexual, physical, emotional, and psychological abuse, as well as serious neglect, of children under the age of 18 years.
The Child Safe Standards are a set of 11 standards that aim to create and maintain child safe environments. Council is required to implement and comply with these Standards.
The Child Safe Standards aim to:
- promote the safety of children
- prevent child abuse
- ensure organisations and businesses have effective processes in place to respond to and report all allegations of child abuse.
The Child Safe Standards work by:
- driving changes in organisational culture – embedding child safety in everyday thinking and practice
- providing a minimum standard of child safety across all organisations
- highlighting that we all have a role to keep children safe from abuse.
Although all children are vulnerable, some children face additional vulnerabilities. The standards provide three overarching principles that organisations must consider:
- the cultural safety of Aboriginal Children
- the cultural safety of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds
- the safety of gender diverse children
- the safety of children with a disability.
The organisation overseeing the implementation and compliance with the Child Safe Standards is the Commission for Children and Young People.
To find out more about the Child Safe Standards see The New Child safe Standards – Frequently Asked Questions
The Reportable Conduct Scheme
The Reportable Conduct Scheme (established by the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005) aims to improve organisations’ responses to allegations of certain types of misconduct involving children, committed by their workers and volunteers. It imposes legal obligations on heads of organisations to have systems in place to prevent child abuse, and if child abuse is alleged, to ensure allegations are brought to the attention of appropriate persons for investigation and response.
Reportable conduct against a child includes:
- Sexual offences
- Sexual misconduct
- Physical violence
- Significant emotional or psychological harm
- Significant neglect
The Reportable Conduct Scheme has been designed to ensure that the Commission for Children and Young People will be aware of every allegation of certain types of employee/volunteer misconduct involving children. The Commission must be informed of all allegations of child abuse involving a worker or volunteer, and independently monitors all investigations undertaken by organisations.
Any complaints about a Surf Coast Shire employee, Councillor, volunteer or contractor’s behaviour or conduct towards a child or young person will be treated seriously and in accordance with the Reportable Conduct Scheme.
If you have immediate concerns about the safety of a child call the Police on 000.
To notify Council of any concerns please email childsafe@surfcoast.vic.gov.au or call Council on 5261 0600 and ask to speak to:
- Manager People and Culture
- Coordinator Human Resources
You can also contact the Commission for Children and Young People at contact@ccyp.vic.gov.au or call 03 8601 5884 (Monday to Friday).
Further information about The Reportable Conduct Scheme can be found at:
The Reportable Conduct Scheme Information Sheets
Translated information about The Reportable Conduct Scheme
Resources for:
Children and Young People
You have the right to feel safe and be safe.
Being safe means you are free from abuse, harassment, discrimination or inappropriate behaviour. Feeling safe means you are comfortable in the places where you spend time and trust the adults around you.
You have a right to:
- be safe and feel safe wherever you are
- expect that the adults around you are keeping you safe
- be given information about how to raise a safety concern
- be listened to and for action to be taken if you have a safety concern.
Further information:
What to do if you feel unsafe
Top Tips on How to Make a Complaint - YouTube
There are number of support services available, specifically to support children and young people
Kids Helpline
Kids Helpline provides free, private and confidential 24/7 phone and online counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25.
1800 55 1800
Headspace
Headspace provide mental health support to 12 - 25 year olds through over 110 national headspace centres, over the phone or online.
With a focus on early intervention, Headspace work with young people to provide support at a crucial time in their lives – to help get them back on track and strengthen their ability to manage their mental health in the future.
eSafety
The eSafety website provides information and advice for kids and young people about how to keep safe online, what to do if something goes wrong and how to complain about online bullying or abuse.
ReachOut
ReachOut offers a range of online supports for young people aged 12–25, with a focus on supporting their mental health and wellbeing through everyday issues and tough times.
Youth Law Australia
Youth Law Australia provides free, confidential legal information, help and referrals to young people under 25 and their advocates. They are available 9:30am-5pm, Monday-Friday AEST
- 1800 950 570 if you live in SA, NSW, TAS, QLD, NT or ACT
- (02) 9067 6510 if you do not live in these states
You can also submit a form on Youth Law Australia’s website or email advice@lawmail.org.au.
Support Services
Please know that there are many other services that survivors of abuse, along with those concerned about others, can reach out to for confidential assistance and support.
Lifeline - (24 hours) Phone: 131 114
Kids Helpline - (24 hours) Phone: 1800 551 800 Kids Helpline is a free, confidential and private counselling service specifically for children and young people aged 5 to 25 years. You can speak to them over the phone, via email, or even on-line live chat.
Commission for Children and Young People - (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) Phone: 03 8601 5884
National Redress Scheme - The National Redress Scheme provides support to people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse. Phone: 1800 737 377
SAMSN (Survivors & Mates Support Network) - Support for male survivors of child sexual abuse
Phone: 1800 472 676
Blue Knot Foundation
1300 657 380 (9am-5pm, Monday-Sunday)
The Blue Knot Foundation empowers recovery and builds resilience for adults impacted by complex trauma.
knowmore
1800 605 762 (9am-5pm, Monday-Friday)
knowmore provides free legal advice and support to survivors of child sexual abuse.
This includes people who have experienced child sexual abuse in non‑institutional settings, and people who were sexually abused in an institution or any organisation that was involved with children. knowmore also works with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people including Stolen Generation survivors, and with young people who are leaving care.
knowmore’s services include legal advice and assistance, support services, financial counselling, and culturally safe supports for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
QLife
1800 184 527 (3pm-midnight everyday)
QLife provides Australia-wide anonymous, LGBTI peer support and referral for people wanting to talk about a range of issues including sexuality, identity, gender, bodies, feelings or relationships.
13YARN
13 92 76 (24/7)
13YARN provides crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
13YARN Crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
Child Safe Workplace
Children and young people have a right to feel safe.
We are continually working to make sure we have a child safe and friendly environment where children and young people are respected, valued and encouraged to reach their full potential.
About child safe standards
The Victorian Government requires all funded programs to protect children from abuse as a part of our everyday practice. Our policies, procedures and training support our employees, volunteers and contractors in achieving the Child Safe Standards.
Surf coast shire child safe commitment statement
Surf Coast Shire is committed to being a child safe organisation and has zero tolerance for child abuse. The focus of our work is on children under the age of 18. We recognise our legal and moral responsibilities in keeping children and young people safe from harm and promoting their best interests.
We have a commitment to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, culturally and linguistically diverse children, and to the safety of children with a disability. We aim to create enriching experiences for young learners and want children to feel safe, happy and empowered.
We have specific policies, procedures and training in place to support employees, volunteers and contractors to achieve these commitments. We create environments where all children have a voice and are listened to, their views are respected and they contribute to how we plan for, design and develop our services and activities.
All Surf Coast Shire employees, volunteers and contractors have a legal obligation to report suspected cases of child sexual abuse to the police.
Council is committed to creating a culture of child safety, and recognises that protecting children and young people and preventing and responding to allegations of abuse, is an organisation wide-responsibility.
To notify Council of any concerns please email childsafe@surfcoast.vic.gov.au or call Council on 5261 0600 and ask to speak to:
- Manager People and Culture
- Coordinator Human Resources
Reporting Child Abuse
If you suspect or know of a child or young person being abused, you must report it:
- If a child or young person is in immediate danger, contact Police on Triple Zero (000)
- For immediate concerns about the safety of a child, contact the Department of Human Services Child Protection Crisis Line by telephone on 13 12 78 or visit Child Protection - DHHS.
- to discuss concerns about the safety of a child or young person, contact your local Police Station.
Council is committed to being a child-safe organisation. All concerns raised with Council will be taken seriously and where appropriate will be reported to authorities and investigated by Council.
Any complaints about a Surf Coast Shire employee, Councillor, volunteer or contractor’s behaviour or conduct towards a child or young person will be handled in accordance with the Victorian Reportable Conduct Scheme.
To notify Council of any concerns please email childsafe@surfcoast.vic.gov.au or call Council on 5261 0600. You can also contact the Commission for Children and Young People at contact@ccyp.vic.gov.au or call 03 8601 5884 (Monday to Friday).
Further information can be found:
Raising concerns about child safety
Reporting past harm as an adult
What is child abuse?