Lead the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
Our office is leading work on the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (National Principles), working with state and territory governments and non governments organisations to promote and support implementation. All governments are responsible for implementing the National Principles in their state or territory. This includes managing how the National Principles are being applied and ensuring that organisations are following the National Principles.
The National Principles give effect to the child safe standards recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (the Royal Commission). The National Principles set out a nationally consistent approach to creating organisational cultures and practices that promote the safety and wellbeing of children in Australia. The National Principles include information on how to implement them in practice, through key actions and performance measures.
The Prime Minister, and state and territory First Ministers, endorsed the National Principles in February 2019.
Resources
Our office works with organisations, and state and territory governments, to develop resources and practical tools that help organisations, children and young people, parents, carers, kin and families learn about the National Principles and how they should be used.
More resources can be found on our Resources page.
Child safe organisations resources
The resources below were developed to support organisations, parents and carers to understand and implement the National Principles. They were developed by the Office of the National Children’s Commissioner and can be found on the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Child Safe Organisations website:
- Introductory Self-Assessment Tool for Organisations
- Guide for Parents and Carers
- Example Code of Conduct
- Charter of Commitment
- Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy template
- Checklist for Online Safety (developed in partnership with the Office of the eSafety Commissioner)
- 11 free professional learning units on the National Principles, including one unit which gives an overview of the development and content of the National Principles, and separate modules on each of the ten Principles.
Keeping Our Kids Safe resources
The Keeping Our Kids Safe resources are available to support organisations working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and communities to implement the National Principles in a culturally safe and relevant way.
The resources include an introductory video resource, Keeping Our Kids Safe: Understanding Cultural Safety in Child Safe Organisations, and a practical guide, Keeping Our Kids Safe: Cultural Safety and the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
The National Office engaged SNAICC — National Voice for our Children (SNAICC), with support from Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA), to develop these resources. SNAICC and VACCA consulted with a wide range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities, including talking to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, when developing the resources.
Child Safety Risk Management resources
The Child Safety Risk Management resources offer organisations guidance about how to put in place a risk management process that prioritises child safety and wellbeing. The resources align with and support implementation of the National Principles. They include:
- Child Safety Risk Management Guide
- Child Safety Risk Identification Checklist
- Child Safety Monitoring and Reviewing Quick Reference Guide.
The resources were developed by the National Office in 2023.
Complaint Handling Guide
The Complaint Handling Guide: Upholding the rights of children and young people gives organisations advice about how to put in place a complaint-handling system that puts child safety first and promotes the rights of children and young people to have a voice in decisions that affect them. The Guide was developed in 2019 by the Office of the NSW Ombudsman on behalf of the National Office.
Speak up and make a complaint – resources for children and young people
The Speak up and make a complaint resources help children and young people understand their right to speak up when they feel unhappy, uncomfortable or unsafe. These resources are available in 10 additional languages.
Resources are also available to support adults to help children and young people in their lives to use the resources and speak up. This includes scenario videos to help adults understand how they can respond to concerns raised by children and young people. High-level guidance is also available to help organisations understand their role in supporting children and young people to make complaints.
These resources were developed in 2020 by the Commissioner for Children and Young People Western Australia on behalf of the National Office.