Child Safe Standards

Child safe organisations 

When your child is in the care of an organisation you want to know that they will be safe from abuse. The Child Safe Standards are designed to prevent child abuse in organisations. The Child Safe Standards apply to over 50,000 Victorian organisations that provide services or facilities for children. 

These include: 

• schools and outside school hours care 

• kindergartens and early learning centres 

• sporting clubs and recreational groups 

• coaching or tuition services 

• out of home care services

• local councils 

• religious and faith-based organisations 

• hospitals, health and disability services 

• professional babysitting services 

• overnight camps for children

How do the Child Safe Standards protect my child? 

The Standards require organisations to take actions in a range of areas, including: • background and suitability checks of staff and volunteers • codes of conduct for staff and volunteers • training and supervision of staff and volunteers • documented risk assessments for activities • clear procedures for reporting and acting on any concerns or allegations • commitment to listening to children and encouraging them to speak up if they don’t feel safe.

How do I know if an organisation is meeting the Child Safe Standards? 

You can look on their website or talk to the staff. 

The organisation should have documents like: 

• Child Safe Policy or Statement of Commitment to Child Safety 

• Code of Conduct for workers and volunteers 

• information about how to raise safety concerns. 

Some questions you could ask include: 

• What are you doing to meet the Child Safe Standards? 

• Do you have risk assessments for activities? 

• Do your staff and volunteers have appropriate checks, training and supervision? 

• What are you are doing to encourage children to speak up if they feel unsafe? 

• Who can I to talk in the organisation if I have a concern or complaint? 

• What is the process if I raise a concern or complaint about child safety?

What can I do if I am not sure my child is safe? 

Take action if you are concerned that an organisation is not keeping your child or other children safe. 

Talk to someone senior at the organisation. Tell them what you are worried about and try to find a solution together. 

If the organisation does not address your concerns, contact their regulator. If you are unsure who the regulator is, you can contact the Commission. The Commission has information about regulators because we work with them to ensure compliance by all organisations with the Standards.

How do I ask my child if they feel safe?

Below are some examples of questions you can ask your child, changing the wording depending on your child’s age. 

• Do you know that you should always feel safe, no matter where you are? 

• What do you like about [the organisation]? Is there anything you don’t like? 

• Have you ever felt uncomfortable, worried or not safe? Who would you talk to if you feel unsafe? 

• Has anyone at [the organisation] ever talked to you about what they can do to make you feel safe? 

• Do the staff listen to you and the other children? 

• What do you hope will happen if you tell someone you don’t feel safe?