Decorate Your Space 2026 Information Pack

6-12 SEPTEMBER 2026

Decorate Your Space invites our communities – including Catholic Schools, St Nicholas, CatholicCare and Parishes – to decorate a space in a way that uniquely reflects their commitment to children’s safety and wellbeing in line with the theme of National Child Protection Week ‘Every conversation matters, Shifting Conversation to Action’ for the chance to win some fantastic prizes.

Prizes

Here are the exciting prizes available to our Diocesan communities, including:

National Child

Protection Week

National Child Protection Week, taking place 6-12 September this year, aims to engage, educate, and empower Australians to understand the complexity of child abuse and neglect and work together to prevent it.

This year, the theme of National Child Protection Week is ‘Every conversation matters, Shifting Conversation to Action’.

LEARN MORE ABOUT NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION WEEK napcan.org.au/ncpw

Office of Safeguarding

The Catholic Diocese of MaitlandNewcastle has an abiding commitment to promote the safety, welfare, and wellbeing of children. The Office of Safeguarding is the structural expression of the Diocese’s commitment to demonstrate the highest standards of recognising and upholding the dignity and rights of all children. One of the ways the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle and the Office of Safeguarding maintain this commitment is through our promotion of and participation in National Child Protection Week each year.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OFFICE OF SAFEGUARDING officeofsafeguarding.org.au

DECORATE YOUR SPACE

How to enter

NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION WEEK

6-12 SEPTEMBER 2026

To enter, simply submit your entry in jpeg format (max 3 images) along with a 150word description explaining what your entry means and how it is connected to this year’s theme, ‘Every conversation matters: Shifting Conversation to Action’

While we welcome video content to be created, these entries will not be accepted as part of Decorate Your Space.

Deadline: 12pm Monday 14 September 2026

Upload here: http://mn.shor.tn/DYGenter

ENTRIES WILL BE JUDGED ON:

Creativity

Involvement from children and communities*

Visibility or presence at your site

Relevance to this year’s theme.

*As relevant per agency

What else is happening?

All Diocesan agencies can access a variety of dedicated resources on the Office of Safeguarding website. These resources are designed to equip our staff and young people with the skills and strategies to identify, respond to, and seek assistance in a range of unsafe situations.

Contact

We will continue to add resources in the lead-up to National Child Protection Week, so be sure to check back regularly for more information on how you can get involved.

officeofsafeguarding.org.au

For any questions relating to National Child Protection Week, please contact:

Keiarnee Matheson - Case Manager, Office of Safeguarding oosgtraining@mn.catholic.org.au