1. INTRODUCTION
CHRG aims to provide children, young and vulnerable people with a positive and enriching environment that promotes their social, physical, or emotional wellbeing. We are committed to safeguarding children, young and vulnerable people who engage with our business and services and ensuring that they feel safe and are safe.
In this policy, child abuse refers to all aspects of abuse that is neglect, physical, emotional, psychological and sexual.
In this policy, vulnerable person refers to those who may be at risk of abuse or exploitation due to their dependency on others or experiences of disadvantage, and could include people with a physical, intellectual or psychological disability, the frail aged, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, refugees and those living in poverty.
In this policy, prescribed position refers to a position that involves providing services to children and/ or vulnerable persons and:
has regular contact with children, young and vulnerable people, and is not directly supervised at all times.
works in close proximity to children on a regular basis, or fewer, extended intense periods of contact which may be away from the person’s usual environment and are not directly supervised at all times.
supervises/manages those in positions requiring regular contact with children, young and/or vulnerable people.
has access to personal records relating to children.
This policy applies to all staff, contractors and sub-contractors.
2. CHILD & VULNERABLE PERSONS PROTECTION PRINCIPLES
CHRG’s approach to the protection of children and vulnerable people is guided by the following principles:
1. Child and vulnerable persons safety is embedded in our organisational leadership and culture.
2. Child and vulnerable persons safety is embedded in our policies and processes.
3. Children and vulnerable people participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
4. Families and communities are informed and involved.
5. Equity is upheld and diverse needs are taken into account.
6. People working with children and vulnerable people are suitable and supported.
7. Processes to respond to complaints are child and vulnerable persons focused.
8. Staff are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and vulnerable people safe, through continual education and training.
9. Physical and online environments minimise the opportunity for abuse or other kinds of harm to occur.
10. Implementation of our principles is continuously reviewed and improved.
These principles are underlined by the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and our obligations under Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998.
3. OUR COMMITMENT
CHRG is committed to fostering the safety of children and other vulnerable people. CHRG will undertake the following to manage our obligations to protect children and other vulnerable people:
Increase awareness within the organisation about providing an environment where children and vulnerable people are safe and protected from abuse.
Maintain a rigorous Employee recruitment, screening and selection process, which may include a criminal history screening of new and existing Employees in a prescribed position.
Obtain a national crime check for service providers, facilitators and other persons who are employed or contracted by CHRG to work with or supervise children and vulnerable people (eg for school holiday programs, youth events etc).
Provide ongoing training to Employees in prescribed positions.
Provide training and support to Employees and all those involved in the delivery of services and programs to ensure they are able to fulfil their duty of care.
Suspicions of abuse will be reported to and managed by a relevant Manager.
Establish supportive and responsive procedures for fulfilling mandatory reporting obligations, where relevant, and dealing with complaints and issues effectively as they arise.
Take appropriate security measures for the collection and maintenance of appropriate records related to children and vulnerable persons during delivery of relevant services and programs.
Collaborate and consult with relevant agencies in matters concerning the protection of children and vulnerable people from abuse.
Develop, monitor, evaluate and review risk management strategies and procedures to minimise harm to children and other vulnerable people.
Ensure that all Employees, contractors and consultants comply with the relevant code of conduct endorsed by CHRG which sets out standards of conduct when providing services to children and other vulnerable people.
Allegations of abuse or inappropriate conduct towards minors will be reported to executive management, and depending on their nature may require Board review.
4. APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES
Our application of our Child and Vulnerable Persons Protection Principles is outlined in Appendix A In circumstances where CHRG employee’s activities with children or vulnerable persons are conducted at another organisation’s site or on behalf of another organisation, the codes and policies of that organisation may also apply while those activities are being conducted. The application of the other organisation’s codes and policies will operate in conjunction with this policy.
5. CHILD AND VULNERABLE PERSONS SAFETY CODE OF CONDUCT
Our Code of Conduct articulates CHRG’s expectations of behaviour of all employees, leaders, directors and contractors, including our expectations regarding the protection of children and vulnerable persons.
6. PRIVACY
All information relating to children and vulnerable people will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
7. REPORTING AND RESPONDING TO CONCERNING BEHAVIOUR
Protecting the safety and wellbeing of children and vulnerable persons relies on everyone accepting responsibility to report any concerning behaviour. This responsibility applies to behaviour that is witnessed or disclosed by another person including a child or vulnerable person.
Reporting requirements in place to ensure that:
all reports are documented and immediate action taken;
children and vulnerable adults are safe and supported; and
action istaken to remove the person(s) engaged in the concerning behaviour from contact with children or vulnerable persons.
Reporting requirements are:
If a child or vulnerable adult is being (or in imminent danger of being) harmed, notify the manager on duty immediately who will contact the Police (telephone 000). The manager will contact the Head of Department, Child & Vulnerable Persons Protection Officer and Group Chief Operating Officer.
If a suspected / near miss – notify the manager on duty immediately. The manager will contact the Head of Department, Child & Vulnerable Persons Protection Officer and Group Chief Operating Officer and will lodge a Customer Welfare Form.
If child abuse and/or neglect is witnessed or suspected, notify the manager on duty. The manager will contact the Child Protection Helpline on 132 111.
The manager on duty, will complete a Customer Welfare or Employee Welfare Report and an investigation will be conducted in accordance with our Incident Reporting, Investigation and Corrective Actions Procedure and/or Complaints Handling Procedure
Where required, the Child & Vulnerable Persons Protection Officerwill reportcertain incidents to the relevant government authorities.
8. BREACH OF THIS POLICY
Breaches of this policy may result in counselling and or disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
9. REVIEW OF THIS POLICY
This policy will be reviewed every two years to ensure it remains consistent with all relevant legislative requirements, as well as the changing nature of the company or more frequently where legislative requirements are changed or amended.
10. POLICY COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION
This policy will be stored on CHRG’s intranet site. It will be incorporated into induction/onboarding programs and CHRG will conduct education sessions on the application and operation of this policy as required and when any changes to the policy are implemented.
11. DOCUMENT HISTORY
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12. EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT