Every child has the right to feel safe and be safe, but safety doesn’t just happen on its own.
In recent years we have had the benefit of learning from many survivors and multiple inquiries, including the Victorian Parliament’s Betrayal of Trust inquiry and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (the Royal Commission). These have shown the devastating extent of harm done to children when organisations do not have the right culture, systems, processes and understanding to prevent abuse.
Several legislative requirements have been introduced in Victoria to ensure that children and young people are kept safe within organisations.
Read detailed summary of the legislative requirements below
Please note this should not be relied on as legal advice.
- Child Safe Standards: Set out minimum requirements and outline the actions organisations must take to keep children and young people safe.
- Reportable Conduct Scheme: Requires the Council to respond to allegations of child abuse and other child-related misconduct made against its workers and volunteers, and to notify the CCYP of any allegations.
- Duty of Care: Requires the Council to be able to demonstrate that it takes ‘reasonable precautions’ to prevent child abuse
- Failure to Disclose Offence: Any adult who has information that leads them to form a ‘reasonable belief’ that another adult has sexually offended against a child under 16 in Victoria, must report the information to police as soon as possible, unless they have a ‘reasonable excuse’ for not reporting the information, or are exempt from the offence.
- Failure to Protect Offence: A person in a position of authority must reduce or remove the risk of sexual abuse of a child by an adult associated with Council.
- Grooming Offence: Targets individuals who communicate with a child or their parents with the intent of committing child sexual abuse.
- Mandatory Reporting: Certain professionals are required to report child abuse to child protection.