Child safety placed front and centre for Children’s Week 2025

The Western Australian Government has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring child safety across all settings as part of this year’s Children’s Week observance. The initiative emphasises the importance of embedding child‑safe practices and culture in organisational leadership, governance and daily operations.

Children’s Week 2025, held from Saturday 18 October to Sunday 26 October, provides a timely opportunity for early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, schools, community organisations and families to reflect on how they uphold the rights and wellbeing of children, in line with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

To support this, the Department of Communities has released a digital toolkit offering messaging templates, posters, email banners and online backgrounds to promote participation across metropolitan and regional communities. The toolkit identifies key areas of practice:

• embedding child safety in governance, leadership and culture;
• ensuring children and young people are informed about their rights, participate in decisions and are taken seriously;
• involving families and communities in meaningful ways; and
• creating inclusive, safe physical and online environments.

The State Government is also offering free information sessions and webinars during Children’s Week to help organisations adopt the National Principles and prevent organisational abuse and harm. A highlight of the program is the Child Safe Organisations Seminar on 24 October, which will focus on the participation of children and young people in decision‑making.

For approved providers, centre managers and educators operating under the Education and Care Services National Law (Application) Act 2008 (WA) and associated Regulations, this week is a reminder to review and strengthen internal policies, particularly:

• promoting leadership that champions child safety as a foundational value, not merely a compliance requirement;
• using the toolkit to facilitate conversations with children, families and staff about what safety looks like within their context; and
• ensuring the service actively adapts based on children’s voices, as part of an ongoing commitment to the National Principles.

Children’s Week 2025 aligns with the State Government’s broader commitment to implementing recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. This includes the establishment of the Supporting Communities Forum and the Child Safe Organisations Working Group to support cross‑sector collaboration and provide advice on implementation.

In addition, the government recently completed public consultation on potential reforms to Western Australia’s Working with Children Check scheme, with a review of submissions now underway. The reforms aim to strengthen protections under the Working with Children (Screening) Act 2004.

Children’s Week is not only a celebration but a call to action. For the ECEC sector, it serves as a reminder that child safety must be proactively lived through policy, practice and culture. Embedding the National Principles strengthens trust with families and positions services to meet evolving regulatory expectations.

For more information on events or to access the toolkit, visit the WA Government Child Safe Organisations calendar.