Child Safety Policy

What is a Child Safety Policy?

A child safety and wellbeing policy is an internal document used by various organisations across Australia to guide their workers and staff in creating a safe environment for the learning and development of the children.

This document manages a child’s safety in general, establishes personnel responsible for proper implementation of the policy, ensures clear complaint procedures for bullying or racism, and aligns with the National Principles for Child Safety Organisations.

Who should use this child safety and wellbeing policy template?

This child safety policy template can be used by various private, public and charity organisations and schools working with children or organising activities or events for the youth, including:

• summer camps are looking for a solid template to ensure safety and well-being during short stays.
• nurseries and daycares that are searching for a reliable policy template for daily operations;
• schools, educators and teachers looking for a professional template to ensure the safety of children during school hours;
• sports clubs and organisations providing extracurricular activities for youth and children;

This policy can also be used in conjunction with other workplace policies, including the anti-discrimination policy.

What should be included in a child safety policy template?

A solid and complete child safety policy template shall include a number of important elements:

General Information

Every child safety and wellbeing policy must clearly outline:

• purpose, goals and missions;
• scope of application (that means staff, workers, children and their parents);
• full legal name and ACN/ABN number of the organisation adopting this policy;
• date of adoption of this policy.

Workers’ Roles & Responsibilities

Every organisation working with children in Australia must ensure that their staff and employees are well trained to work with children and young people. In this regard, the organisation shall implement the following measures:

• to promote a workplace which values diversity and inclusion.
• to actively involve parents and legal guardians in handling conflicts, including bullying or racism;
• to take all allegations or complaints related to child safety seriously and promptly respond to them;
• to report any allegations or concerns to relevant state or federal authorities;
• to collect consent from parents or legal guardians for taking photos of children during public events;

Reporting Procedures

This section of a child safety policies and procedures must ensure that children, parents and legal guardians are fully aware of how to report their concerns and questions or submit feedback to the organisation. Therefore, a solid template shall outline the following:

• procedure on reporting bullying;
• procedure on reporting racism;
• procedure on submitting general concerns or queries;
• timeline for responding to complaints, queries or questions;
• full name, contact email and phone number of a person responsible for implementation of this policy.

What are the benefits of this child safety and well-being policy template?

By customising this child safety policy template on our platform, you get access to the following benefits:

• a policy is ready for instant implementation and usage.
• a document that is fully compliant with the Family Law Act 1975 and the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations;
• a document that is suitable for application across all Australian states and territories;
• a document that includes all necessary safety measures and guidelines;
• a template created by real legal professionals and never by AI.

Important Legal Considerations for Child Safety Policy Australia

When creating a child safety policy template for an organisation working with youth or children in Australia, it is important to keep in several legal points.

Working with Children Check

Legislation of all Australian states and territories requires all employees, workers and staff engaged with children to undergo a mandatory Working with Children Check before the start of their employment. This is done to ensure that only suitable people are engaged with working with children and your people.

Once the candidate is approved, they receive a so-called clearance certificate that is valid for a set period of time. The duration of the validity of the certificate varies between 3 and 5 years.

Policy for Children

Although there is no mandatory legal requirement, many Australian organisations that work with children adapt the wording of their policies to make them more children-friendly. This helps to ensure that even little ones are fully aware of their basic rights, as well as how to report concerns such as bullying or racism.

Aboriginal Children Protection

It is common for many Australian child safety and well-being policies to include a separate section addressing the proper protection, safety and well-being of Aboriginal children. This foremost includes recognition of a child’s cultural identity to ensure proper and safe integration within the community with other children. On top of that, the additional protection of Aboriginal children is required to abolish any racism or related discrimination coming from peers or staff.

How to customise this child safety policy template with FasterDraft?

To get a fully customisable document template, follow a few easy steps below:

1. Click the “Create Document” button.
2. Answer simple questions in the form.
3. Select a template’s format – PDF or Word.
4. Make the payment.
5. You get your downloadable child safety policy template immediately after the purchase.