The Child and Youth Safe Standards and the Universal Principle for Aboriginal Cultural Safety will be put into practice differently in each organisation. Every organisation will apply them in ways that reflect its own context and community.
Please use our compliance guidance resources for each Standard. They’re designed to assist you and your organisation to put the Standards into practice in a purposeful and effective way.
The Universal Principle applies to all 10 Standards and means the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people to cultural safety must be respected.
If you're unsure where to begin, we suggest starting with the Child and Youth Safe Action Plan Workbook
The Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act 2023 is the Act that sets out the OIR’s powers and functions.
Templates and Examples
Tools
Standard 1 - leadership, governance and culture.
- Are you a child-centred leader?
- Six steps for creating and embedding a Statement of Commitment to Child and Youth Safety
- Five steps for developing a Child and Youth Safe Code of Conduct
Standard 2 - Children and young people
- How do you support children and young people to participate in your organisation?
- Three ways you can consult with children and young people in regular and meaningful ways
Standard 3 - Families and communities
- Poor and good example letters to families about your organisation's child-safe practices
- How well does your organisation involve families and communities in its child-safe practices?
Standard 4 - Equity and diverse needs
- Complaints process posters
- Is your organisation proactive or reactive in its diversity and inclusion practices?
Standard 5 - Staff and volunteers
- Four steps for following a child-safe recruitment process
- What to include in a child-safe induction package
Standard 6 - Complaints and concerns
- Complaints process posters
- Does your organisation have a child-centred complaints culture?
- Nine key principles every adult should know when responding to a disclosure
- How are child safety concerns handled in your organisation?
Standard 7 - Staff and volunteers
- Signs you need to update and review your organisation's training program
- Making child safety training part of everyday
- How to plan a child safety training session
Standard 8 - Physical and online environments
- Checklist: Assessing child safety risks in your organisation
- Mitigating key child safety risks in your organisation
Resources for Standards 8-10 coming soon.
Guides
The Child and Youth Safe Standards overview
| Child and Youth Safe Standard | Updated compliance guidance | Webinar recording |
|---|---|---|
| Standard 1: Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture. | Putting Standard 1 into practice in your organisation compliance guidance | |
| Standard 2: Children and young people are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously. | Putting Standard 2 into practice in your organisation compliance guidance | |
| Standard 3: Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing. | Putting Standard 3 into practice in your organisation compliance guidance | |
| Standard 4: Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice. | Putting Standard 4 into practice in your organisation compliance guidance | Coming soon |
| Standard 5: People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice. | Putting Standard 5 into practice in your organisation compliance guidance | |
| Standard 6: Processes to respond to complaints and concerns are child focused. | Putting Standard 6 into practice in your organisation compliance guidance | |
| Standard 7: Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training. | Putting Standard 7 into practice in your organisation compliance guidance | |
| Standard 8: Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed. | Putting Standard 8 into practice in your organisation compliance guidance | |
Posters
Sign up to the OIR’s mailing list to receive the OIR latest newsletter and news
Seeking help?
We encourage anyone affected by, or with concerns about, child sexual abuse or other types of child abuse to access advice and support on our Wellbeing and support services page.