Commonwealth Child Safe Framework implementation self-assessment checklist
The Commonwealth Child Safe Framework (CCSF) sets minimum standards for creating and embedding child safe culture and practice in non-corporate Commonwealth entities.
How to use this self-assessment checklist
Use this self-assessment checklist as an indication of your entities’ progress towards implementation of the CCSF or assessing your entities’ current practices. If you undertake one of the tasks in the self-assessment checklist, it may also implement another requirement of the CCSF as child safety should be a connected process that is embedded in your agency’s day-to-day work.
Further information and support is available, please contact the National Office for Child Safety at CommonwealthChildSafe@ag.gov.au.
Assurance
The Accountable Authority of a Commonwealth entity is responsible for the implementation of the CCSF within their entity. It is recommended that the Accountable Authority assure themselves on an annual basis that they are meeting the requirements of the CCSF.
Requirement 1 – Risk
Under Requirement 1 of the CCSF, Commonwealth entities must undertake risk assessments annually in relation to the activities of each entity, to identify the level of responsibility for, and contact with, children and young people, evaluate the risk of harm or abuse, and put in place appropriate strategies to manage identified risks.
Have you done an annual risk assessment?
Have you assessed the outcome of your risk assessment? Do you have a plan for managing risks? Have you reported the outcomes and plan to an appropriate senior level officer?
Is the requirement for an annual risk assessment in an appropriate child safety policy?
Have you updated your Accountable Authority Instructions/Secretary’s Instructions to include child safety risks and control?
Have you updated your risk management policy? Have you updated your risk assessment tool to ensure all risk assessments undertaken in your entity consider child safety risks?
Requirement 2 – Training and compliance
Under Requirement 2 of the CCSF, Commonwealth entities must establish and maintain a system of training and compliance to make their staff aware of, and compliant with, the CCSF and relevant legislation including working with children checks and mandatory reporting requirements.
Have you specified the training requirements for staff in your child safety policy?
Is your training trauma informed?
Have you identified which staff work with children? These staff will need more child safety related training than staff who do not work with children.
Have you identified which staff in your agency require working with children checks? Have you made it a condition of employment that staff who require working with children checks maintain valid and current checks?
Have you recorded which staff have current working with children checks? Do you have a regime in place that verifies that working with children checks are valid and current?
☐ Are your staff aware of their mandatory reporting obligations? Are your staff aware of the implications of failing to meet their mandatory reporting obligations?
Do you have in place a process for reporting compliance with the CCSF to your Accountable Authority/Head of the agency?
Requirement 3 – National Principles
Under Requirement 3 of the CCSF, Commonwealth entities must adopt and implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (National Principles) by 1 February 2020.
Principle 1: Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisation leadership, governance and culture
Is there an area in your entity that has been assigned responsibility for implementing the CCSF?
Do you have a child safety champion at a senior level who can promote the importance of child safety in your entity?
Do you have an annual plan for implementing the CCSF in your entity?
Do you have a child safety policy?
Do you have in place a process for assessing compliance with the CCSF annually and how this will be reported to the Accountable Authority/Head of the agency?
Are your child safety policies publicly available? This demonstrates leadership by publicly demonstrating the entities commitment to child safety and wellbeing
Principle 2: Children and young people are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously
If your entity works with children, have your consulted children about the content and application of the policy including risk identification and safety?
If your entity works with children, do you have an education program for children informing them about their rights which is age appropriate?
If your entity works with children, do you have a communication strategy for children and families?
Are your child safety policies publicly available? Can community members provide feedback and observations about child safety policies?
Principle 3: Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing
If your entity works with children, have you consulted families about the content and application of the policy including risk identification and safety?
If your entity works with children, do you have a communication strategy for families and communities?
Are your child safety policies publicly available? Can community members provide feedback and observations about child safety policies?
Principle 4: Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice
If your entity works with children, have you drafted your policies in a way that promote equity and respect for diversity. For example, by having child-friendly material in accessible languages and formats
If your entity works with children, all aspects of your child safety strategy deal with the needs of particularly vulnerable children (e.g. children with disability, children from diverse backgrounds and indigenous children).
Are your policies written in a culturally safe, accessible and easy to understand way?
Are your child safety policies publicly available? Can community members provide feedback and observations about child safety policies?
Principle 5: People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice
Do you have child safe recruitment and screening practices for staff working with children?
Have you embedded child safe recruitment in your policy and recruitment templates?
Do relevant staff have Working with Children Checks (or equivalent)?
Have you specified in your child safety policy what behaviours are expected and unacceptable from staff when working with children? For staff that work with children have staff made a written commitment to these behaviours through their performance agreement and employment contract?
Do relevant staff have appropriate inductions, ongoing trauma informed training, ongoing supervision and child safety focused performance reviews?
Principle 6: Processes to respond to complaints and concerns are child focused
Do you have a child focused complaint handling policy which clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of leadership and staff for dealing with different types of complaints? This can be a stand-alone policy or could be in your child safety policy?
If your entity works with children, do you have a trusted adult for children to speak to about concerns?
Principle 7: Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training
Have you specified the training requirements for staff in your child safety policy?
Is your training trauma informed?
Were staff involved in the development of policies?
Do you need/have a child safe officer?
Do you have a child safety champion at a senior level?
Principle 8: Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising opportunity for children and young people to be harmed
Have you considered the physical safety of children who will be in physical contact with staff? Are these risks dealt with in your child safety policy?
Have you updated your online safety protocols and procedures (e.g. ICT policy and social media policy)?
Do you have practices in place which monitor inappropriate use of equipment or online interactions with children? Do you have a process for how you will respond to a breach of your ICT policies and the sanctions that may be taken?
Principle 9: Implementation of the national child safe principles is regularly reviewed and improved
Do you have in place a process to ensure annual risk assessments are undertaken and mitigation strategies are put in place?
Do you have in place a process for reporting compliance with the CCSF to your Accountable Authority/Head of the agency?
Do your policies and procedures specify when the next review of the policy is to be undertaken to identify improvements?
If a complaint, concern or incident occurs do you have a process to analyse the incident and make improvements to mitigate the chance of this incident occurring in the future? (If you work with children, then children should be involved in this review process where appropriate).
Principle 10: Policies and procedures document how the organisation is safe for children and young people
Do you have a plan for how to implement the requirements of the CCSF and document implementation within your policies and procedures?
Requirement 4 – Annual reporting
Under Requirement 4 of the CCSF, Commonwealth entities are required to publish an annual statement of compliance with the Framework, including an overview of the entity’s child safety risk assessment.
Preparing for the annual statement of compliance reporting process
Have you undertaken an annual child safe risk assessment?
Low ☐ Med ☐ High What is your overall child safety risk rating?
Have you undertaken a review of your child safety policy and any other child related policies, including a stocktake of child-related work?
Do you have a system of child safety training and compliance in place?
[Optional] Have you ensured the use of child safety third party clauses in all relevant grants, contracts and procurement activities?
Minimum requirements for your statement of compliance
A clear declaration of commitment to child safety.
A description of your organisation’s interaction/s with children.
Outcomes of your annual child safety risk assessment, including actions taken to mitigate risks.
Whether you are compliant with the CCSF, and a summary of past or planned activities to improve your compliance.
A summary of child safety initiatives undertaken (include the reporting year in your statement) and any future planned initiatives.
Once you have completed the steps above, your statement is ready to be published. It is entities’ choice on how to publish your statement but it must be published by 31 October. You must also notify the CommonwealthChildSafe@ag.gov.au once the statement is published.
Additional obligation – Funding third parties
Entities should also consider, where appropriate, to impose child safety requirements consistent with the CCSF on any individuals or organisations you fund to provide services directly to children or for activities that involve contact with children that is a usual part of and more than incidental to the funded activity (including grants and procurements).
Have you updated your Accountable Authority Instructions/Secretary’s Instructions to include child safety considerations in the conduct of procurements, grants and other funding arrangements? Have you updated all associated templates?
Have you updated your procurement policy to include child safety requirements, including when to use a child safety clause in a contract?
Have you updated your procurement templates to include child safety requirements?
Have you updated your grant policy to include child safety requirements, including when to use a child safety clause in a grant agreement?
Have you updated your grant templates to include child safety requirements?