New Child Safe Standards come into effect on 1 July 2022

The Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) have released resources to help organisations implement the new Child Safe Standards which come into effect for Victorian organisations, including early childhood education and care (ECEC) services from 1 July 2022. 

The 11 new Standards replace the existing 7 Standards and principles. New requirements include:

• involving families and communities in organisations’ efforts to keep children and young people safe
• greater focus on safety for Aboriginal children and young people
• managing risks of child abuse in online settings. 

The changes are more consistent with national standards reflecting the National Principles for a Child Safe Organisation developed following the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and will provide clarity on the minimum actions required by organisations to meet each standard. 

As a starting point CCYP recommends that organisations download the Short guide to the Child Safe Standards. This guide provides an overview of the key concepts and requirements to comply with the new Standards. More detailed information about each Standard and advice on how to comply can be found in A guide for creating a Child Safe Organisation.

There are also tools and templates to help organisations to develop some key policies, practices and procedures including: 

• Guide to creating a Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
• Steps for creating or updating your Code of Conduct
• Risk assessment and management template
• Practical guide to choosing, supervising and developing suitable staff and volunteers
• Sample learning or training action plan.

A full list of the organisations which must follow the standards is available here. To learn more about the Child Safe Standards see here.