Safe Ministry

The National Principles are: 

1. Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.

2. Children and young people are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

3. Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.

4. Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.

5. People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.

6. Processes to respond to complaints and concerns are child focused.

7. Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.

8. Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.

9. Implementation of the national child safe principles is regularly reviewed and improved.

10. Policies and procedures document how the organisation is safe for children and young people.

(Source: About the National Principles )

A poster outlining these principles has been distributed to congregations and is available via Circle.

Please note that the State of Victoria has 11 Child Safe Standards - the 10 National Standards and the following standard as their number 1:

Child Safe Standard 1 - Organisations establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.

All adults working or volunteering with children require a working with children check. If you are a pastor, church worker or a volunteer working with children (eg Sunday School teacher), you must obtain a check. If you currently have a valid Working with Children Check, please forward the details to admin@lutheranmissionaustralia.org.au, along with your name, and the name of your congregation.

These are called different things in different states. A single screening unit has been set up in each state and territory to conduct working with children checks and issue the resulting cards, registrations or permits. The following state and territory screening units are the only organisations allowed, under legislation, to conduct working with children checks:

Australian Capital Territory Access Canberra –Working with Vulnerable People

New South Wales Office of the Children’s Guardian

Northern Territory Northern Territory Government

Queensland Queensland Government Department of Justice and Attorney-General –Blue Card Services

South Australia Department for Communities and Social Inclusion

Tasmania Department of Justice

Victoria Justice and Community Safety

Western Australia Department of Communities

Mandatory reporting is the legal requirement for certain professional groups to report a reasonable belief of child physical or sexual abuse to child protection authorities.

Thank you for your work of mercy and love to the person in your care! It is very difficult to hear a report of abuse or misconduct. LM-A is here to help you in your role as a mandatory reporter. 

Any person is lawfully entitled to make a report if they are concerned for a child's welfare, even if they are not required to do so as a mandatory reporter.   

National advice:

Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect | Australian Institute of Family Studies

You can call the national sexual assault information and support 24-hour hotline on 1800 737 732 or go to the 1800 Respect website.  

VICTORIA: https://providers.dffh.vic.gov.au/mandatory-reporting

Note regarding sexual abuse: ALL ADULTS are mandatory reporters if you have information that leads you to form a ‘reasonable belief’ that another adult has sexually offended against a child under 16 in Victoria. 

Note regarding religious exemption, seal of the confession:  As of 17 February 2020, if you are a religious minister who hears information in religious confession that leads you to form a reasonable belief of child sexual abuse, you must report that information to police. 

Resources: Mandatory reporting fact sheet for religious workers doc 

How to report: 

North Division - 1300 598 521 

North Division covers the following areas and LGAs: Banyule, Buloke, Darebin, Campaspe, Central Goldfield, Gannawarra, Greater Bendigo, Hume, Loddon, Macedon Ranges, Mildura, Moreland, Mount Alexander, Nillumbik, Swan Hill, Whittlesea, Yarra. 

South Division - 1300 555 526 

South Division covers the following areas and LGAs: Bass Coast, Baw Baw, Bayside, Cardinia, Casey, East Gippsland, Frankston, Glen Eira, Greater Dandenong, Kingston, Latrobe, Mornington Peninsula, Port Phillip, South Gippsland, Stonnington, Wellington. 

East Division - 1300 360 452 

East Division covers the following areas and LGAs: Alpine, Benalla, Boroondara, Greater Shepparton, Indigo, Knox, Manningham, Mansfield, Maroondah, Mitchell, Moira, Monash, Murrindindi, Strathbogie, Towong, Wangaratta, Whitehorse, Wodonga, Yarra Ranges. 

West Division - 1300 360 462 

West Division covers the following areas and LGAs: Ararat, Ballarat, Brimbank, Colac-Otway, Corangamite, Glenelg, Golden Plains, Greater Geelong, Hepburn, Hobsons Bay, Hindmarsh, Horsham, Maribyrnong, Moorabool, Moyne, Melbourne, Melton, Moonee Valley, Northern Grampians, Pyrenees, Queenscliffe, Southern Grampians, Wyndham, Surf Coast, Warrnambool, West Wimmera, Yarriambiack. 

SOUTH AUSTRALIA: https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/report-suspected-harm

https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/report-suspected-harm/process-for-mandated-reporters/the-role-of-mandated-reporters

Note: All professional and voluntary workers in a religious organisation are considered mandatory reporters. 

Note: “Voluntary reporters . Although only mandated reporters have a legal responsibility to make reports, everybody has a moral responsibility to make a report where they suspect a child or young person is or may be at risk. People without a legal obligation to report (voluntary reporters) can follow the same steps to make a report as mandated reporters.” 

Resources: Mandatory Reporting Information Booklet 

How to report: 

Always call 000 in an emergency. 

You must advise the Department for Child Protection of your suspicions of risk or harm by contacting the Child Abuse Report Line (CARL) by phone, or online. 

Phone: 13 14 78 

Online: https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/reporting-child-abuse/report-child-abuse-or-neglect

NEW SOUTH WALES: https://dcj.nsw.gov.au/service-providers/deliver-services-to-children-and-families/nsw-interagency-guidelines-for-practitioners/reporting-responding-wellbeing-and-safety-concerns/mandatory-reporting.html

Note: All professional and voluntary workers in a religious organisation are considered mandatory reporters.  

Note: “It is important to note that mandatory reporting requirements only relate to children, not young people. (A person who is aged 16 years or above but who is under the age of 18 years. Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998)” 

Note: ALL ADULTS are mandatory reporters. Subject to section 316A of the Crimes Act 1900, all adults in NSW who know, believe or reasonably ought to know that a child abuse offence has been committed, and fail to report the information to the police as soon as it is practicable, are guilty of an offence.   

How to report: Helpline Call 132 111 

The online Mandatory Reporter Guide (MRG) (https://reporter.childstory.nsw.gov.au/s/mrg) assists mandatory reporters to: 

• Determine whether a report to the Helpline or Child Wellbeing Unit is needed for concerns about possible abuse or neglect of a child or young person. 

• Identify alternative ways to support vulnerable children and their families, where a mandatory reporter’s response is better served outside the statutory child protection system. 

Applying the MRG before making a report, including referring to the definitions, helps users to identify the key information to include in their report, and to report only matters where Risk of Significant Harm is suspected. 

QUEENSLAND: https://www.families.qld.gov.au/our-work/child-safety/about-child-protection/mandatory-reportinghttps://www.qld.gov.au/community/getting-support-health-social-issue/support-victims-abuse/child-abuse/reporting-child-abuse

Note: Religious workers are NOT listed as mandatory reporters in Queensland. However, ALL ADULTS are mandatory reporters regarding sexual offences against a child by another adult.  

QLD has a “Child Protection Guide” online decision tree similar to NSW, available here: QLD Child Protection Guide

How to Report: 

A Regional Intake Service receives information and child protection concerns from community members, government and non-government agencies during business hours (from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday). 

Outside of these hours, you can contact the Child Safety After Hours Service Centre on phone freecall 1800 177 135 (Queensland only). 

Contact your local Regional Intake Service during business hours on: 

Brisbane and Moreton Bay 1300 682 254 

Far North Queensland 1300 684 062 

North Queensland 1300 706 147 

South East(Logan, Gold Coast and Bayside) 1300 679 849 

South West (Darling Downs) Toowoomba 1300 683 390 

South West (West Moreton) Ipswich 1800 316 855 

Sunshine Coast and Central Queensland 1300 703 762 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: https://www.wa.gov.au/service/community-services/community-support/mandatory-reporting-of-child-sexual-abuse-wa

Note: Ministers of Religion are listed as mandatory reporters, but does not list “all employees or volunteers” in a religious organisation as other states. However, a reasonable belief of suspected sexual abuse of a child is not protected by the seal of the confession in WA. 

Resources: Mandatory Reporting Guide

How to Report: 

The Mandatory Reporting Service operates in the Department of Communities to receive and respond to mandatory reports of child sexual abuse. The best method for making a mandatory report is through the mandatory reporting website at www.wa.gov.au/mandatoryreporting

Reports can be made 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  

By contacting the Mandatory Reporting Service on 1800 708 704, you can: 

• report immediate concerns for the safety of a child;  

• discuss with a specialist in child protection any grounds on which you have formed a belief that a child has been or is currently being sexually abused; and 

• seek advice on reporting procedures. 

TASMANIA:https://www.service.tas.gov.au/services/justice-crime-and-the-law/family-violence/report-a-child-safety-or-wellbeing-concern/

Note: Religious practitioners are not listed as mandatory reporters in TAS.  

How to Report:  

The Strong Families, Safe Kids advice and referral line is the first point of contact for child wellbeing and safety. Contact them by phone on 1800 000 123 or via an Online Contact Form

NORTHERN TERRITORY: 

Note: The Care and Protection of Children Act 2007 requires every adult in the Northern Territory to report, either to Territory Families or the Police, if they believe on reasonable grounds that a child has been or is likely to suffer harm, neglect, or exploitation, or be a victim of a sexual offence. 

How to report 

To make a report on suspected child abuse, you can: 

call the child protection reporting line on 1800 700 250 - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 

do it online via  CARE Services

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted you should call the police. 

You should call 000 if any of the following apply: 

• a life is being threatened 

• a person is in danger of being injured again 

• property is being threatened 

• it is a domestic or family violence incident. 

You can also call 131 444 to talk to a police operator. This is a 24-hour hotline. 

Australian Capital Territory: Report risk of significant harm to a child - ACT Government

Note: Ministers of Religion are listed as mandatory reporters, but does not list “all employees or volunteers” in a religious organisation as other states. 

How to Report: 

Online: Provision of Information to Child, Youth and Family Safety

Call Children, Youth and Families on 1300 556 729