Child Safety Policy
At Maranguka, the safety and wellbeing of our children and young people is our highest priority.
We want every child to feel safe, heard and supported. If you, your child, or a child in your care would like to make a complaint about someone in the community or a member of our staff, we are here to help.
Please click the link below to view our complaints process. It explains the steps we will take and how we will support you throughout the process.
Our Statement of Commitment to Child Safety
Our commitment to children and young people
- Zero tolerance to child abuse: We maintain a zero-tolerance approach to any form of child abuse, including physical, emotional, sexual, or neglectful harm.
- Empowerment and participation: We actively support the participation of children and young people in decisions that affect them, ensuring their voices are heard and respected.
- Safe and supportive environment: We strive to create an environment where children and young people feel safe, respected, and valued. We foster a culture where they are free from discrimination and harm.
- Proactive protection: We implement policies, procedures, and practices aimed at preventing abuse and reducing risk within all activities, programs, and interactions involving children.
- Ongoing education and awareness: We educate our staff, volunteers, and the children in our care on recognising and responding to potential risks or incidents of abuse.
- Continuous improvement: We are committed to regularly reviewing and improving our child-safe strategies to align with best practices and evolving safety standards.
Our commitment to parents, carers, families and their communities
- Transparent communication: We keep families informed about our child safety policies, procedures, and any updates to ensure transparency in our practices.
- Open dialogue: We encourage parents, carers, and community members to participate in the development and evaluation of our child-safe strategies. Their feedback is essential to creating an inclusive and culturally sensitive environment.
- Supporting families: We provide families with resources and information to help them understand the importance of child safety and how they can contribute to maintaining a safe environment for their children.
- Accessible reporting processes: We ensure that all families are aware of the processes for raising concerns or reporting any potential risks to child safety. We work closely with families to address any concerns swiftly and appropriately.
- Engagement in child safe practices: We require all adults involved in our programs, including parents and volunteers, to uphold our commitment to creating a child-safe environment. We provide guidance and training on recognising and responding to child safety concerns.
- Cultural respect and sensitivity: We work with families and communities to promote cultural safety, particularly for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families. We respect diverse family backgrounds and childrearing practices, while ensuring that child safety remains paramount.
Our commitment to being a child safe organisation
- Leadership and governance: Our leadership team prioritises child safety in all decisions, ensuring that it is central to our culture, values, and strategic planning. Child safety is a standing agenda item in all leadership and staff meetings to ensure ongoing focus and accountability.
- Child safe practices: We actively implement child safety policies and procedures across all levels of our organisation. These policies provide clear guidance on acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, risk management, reporting obligations, and complaint handling.
- Continuous monitoring and improvement: We review and assess our child safety practices regularly to ensure they remain effective and responsive to emerging risks or concerns. We engage external reviews when necessary to guarantee that our practices align with best standards.
- Staff education and training: We provide all staff, volunteers, and contractors with regular, up-to-date training on child safety, including how to recognise signs of abuse, mitigate risks, and respond appropriately to incidents or concerns.
- Risk management: We undertake thorough risk assessments for all programs and activities involving children. Our Child Safe Risk Management Plan identifies potential risks and outlines strategies to mitigate them in both physical and online environments.
- Transparency and accountability: We ensure our child safe commitments are visible and accessible to all stakeholders, including children, families, staff, and the broader community. Our reporting processes are clear, and we act on all concerns raised in a timely and transparent manner
- Child empowerment and participation: Children and young people are empowered to participate in decisions that affect them. We encourage open communication with children and ensure they understand their right to feel safe and speak up if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
Approved by Stephen Dowling · Next review date 25 March 2027
Download our child safety documents
Maranguka’s full Statement of Commitment can be found here and should be read alongside our full policies, including our Child Safe Policy.
CONTACT
If you are worried about a child right now
If a child is in immediate danger, call 000.
If you are worried about a child’s safety or wellbeing, call us.