Child Safety Policy

Introduction

Bendigo Church of Christ is committed to promoting and protecting the interests and safety of children. We have zero tolerance for child abuse.

Everyone working, or engaged in ministry, at Bendigo Church of Christ is responsible for the care and protection of children and reporting information about child abuse.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to:

Facilitate the prevention of child abuse occurring within Bendigo Church of Christ;
Work towards an organisational culture of child safety;
Prevent child abuse within Bendigo Church of Christ;
Ensure that all parties are aware of their responsibilities for identifying possible occasions for child abuse and for establishing controls and procedures for preventing such abuse and/or detecting such abuse when it occurs;
Provide guidance to staff, ministry team leaders and ministry team members as to action that should be taken where they suspect any abuse within or outside of the organisation;
Provide a clear statement to staff, ministry team leaders and ministry team members forbidding any such abuse.
Provide assurance that any and all suspected abuse will be reported and fully investigated.

Policy

Bendigo Church of Christ is committed to promoting and protecting at all times the best interests of children involved in its programs.

All children, regardless of their gender, race, religious beliefs, age, disability, sexual orientation, or family or social background, have equal rights to protection from abuse.

Bendigo Church of Christ has zero tolerance for child abuse.

Everyone working and engaged in ministry at Bendigo Church of Christ is responsible for the care and protection of the children within our care and reporting information about suspected child abuse.

Child protection is a shared responsibility between the Bendigo Church of Christ, all employees, ministry leaders, ministry team members and members of the Bendigo Church of Christ community.

Bendigo Church of Christ will consider the opinions of children and use their opinions to develop child protection policies.

Bendigo Church of Christ supports and respects all children, staff and volunteers.

Bendigo Church of Christ is committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children, and those from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to providing a safe environment for children living with a disability.

If any person believes a child is in immediate risk of abuse, telephone 000.

Responsibilities

The Church Council of Bendigo Church of Christ has ultimate responsibility for the detection and prevention of child abuse and is responsible for ensuring that appropriate and effective internal control systems are in place.

The Church Council is also responsible for ensuring that appropriate policies and procedures and a Child Protection Code of Conduct are in place.

The Senior Pastor of Bendigo Church of Christ is responsible for:

Dealing with and investigating reports of child abuse;
Ensuring that all staff, ministry leaders and ministry team members are aware of relevant laws, organisational policies and procedures, and the organisation’s Code of Conduct;
Ensuring that all adults within the Bendigo Church of Christ community are aware of their obligation to report suspected sexual abuse of a child in accordance with these policies and procedures;
Ensuring that all staff, ministry team leaders and ministry team members are aware of their obligation to observe the Code of Conduct (particularly as it relates to child safety);
Providing support for staff, ministry team leaders and ministry team members in undertaking their child protection responsibilities.

All ministry team leaders must ensure that they:

Promote child safety at all times;
Assess the risk of child abuse within their area of control and eradicate/minimise any risk to the extent possible;
Educate ministry team members about the prevention and detection of child abuse; and
Facilitate the reporting of any inappropriate behaviour or suspected abusive activities.

Ministry team leaders should be familiar with the types of abuse that might occur within their area of responsibility and be alert for any indications of such conduct.

All ministry team members share in the responsibility for the prevention and detection of child abuse, and must:

Familiarise themselves with the relevant laws, the Code of Conduct, and Bendigo Church of Christ’s policy and procedures in relation to child protection, and comply with all requirements;
Report any reasonable belief that a child’s safety is at risk to the relevant authorities (such as the police and/or child protection service) and fulfil their obligations as mandatory reporters;
Report any suspicion that a child’s safety may be at risk to their ministry team leader (or, if their ministry team leader is involved in the suspicion, to the Senior Pastor); and
Provide an environment that is supportive of all children’s emotional and physical safety.

Definitions

Child means a person below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.

Child protection means any responsibility, measure or activity undertaken to safeguard children from harm.

Child abuse means all forms of physical abuse, emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse and exploitation, neglect or negligent treatment, commercial (e.g. for financial gain) or other exploitation of a child and includes any actions that results in actual or potential harm to a child.

Child sexual assault is any act which exposes a child to, or involves a child in, sexual processes beyond his or her understanding or contrary to accepted community standards.

Sexually abusive behaviours can include the fondling of genitals, masturbation, oral sex, vaginal or anal penetration by a penis, finger or any other object, fondling of breasts, voyeurism, exhibitionism, and exposing the child to or involving the child in pornography. It includes child grooming, which refers to actions deliberately undertaken with the aim of befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child to lower the child’s inhibitions in preparation for sexual activity with the child.

Reasonable grounds for belief is a belief based on reasonable grounds that child abuse has occurred when all known considerations or facts relevant to the formation of a belief are taken into account and these are objectively assessed. Circumstances or considerations may include the source of the allegation and how it was communicated, the nature of and details of the allegation, and whether there are any other related matters known regarding the alleged perpetrator.

A reasonable belief is formed if a reasonable person believes that:

The child is in need of protection,
The child has suffered or is likely to suffer “significant harm as a result of physical injury”,
The parents are unable or unwilling to protect the child.

A ‘reasonable belief’ or a ‘belief on reasonable grounds’ is not the same as having proof, but is more than mere rumour or speculation.

A ‘reasonable belief’ is formed if a reasonable person in the same position would have formed the belief on the same grounds.

For example, a ‘reasonable belief’ might be formed if:

A child states that they have been physically or sexually abused;
A child states that they know someone who has been physically or sexually abused (sometimes the child may be talking about themselves);
Someone who knows a child states that the child has been physically or sexually abused;
Professional observations of the child’s behaviour or development leads a professional to form a belief that the child has been physically or sexually abused or is likely to be abused; and/or
Signs of abuse lead to a belief that the child has been physically or sexually abused.

Employment/engagement of New Personnel

Bendigo Church of Christ undertakes a comprehensive recruitment and screening process for all workers and volunteers which aims to:

Promote and protect the safety of all children under the care of the organisation;
Identify the safest and most suitable people who share Bendigo Church of Christ’s values and commitment to protect children; and
Prevent a person from working at Bendigo Church of Christ’s if they pose a risk to children.

Bendigo Church of Christ requires all workers/ volunteers to pass through the organisation’s recruitment and screening processes prior to commencing their engagement in ministry with Bendigo Church of Christ.

Bendigo Church of Christ requires applicants to provide a police check or a Working with Children’s Check in accordance with the law and as appropriate, before they commence working at Bendigo Church of Christ and during their time with Bendigo Church of Christ at regular intervals.

Holders of VIT registration are required to obtain WWCC. Bendigo Church of Christ will undertake thorough reference checks as per the approved internal procedure. Once engaged, workers/volunteers must review and acknowledge their understanding of this Policy.

Should a negative notice be issued against the WWCC of any employee or volunteer of Bendigo Church of Christ, this person will immediately be removed from any context of working with children, or vulnerable persons until such time as a clear WWCC is obtained and provided to the church.

Risk Management

Bendigo Church of Christ will ensure that child safety is a part of its overall risk management approach.

Reporting

Any staff member, ministry team leader or ministry team member who has grounds to suspect abusive activity must immediately notify the appropriate child protection service or the police.

Ministry team members should advise their team leader about their concern.

In situations where the team leader is suspected of involvement in the activity, or if the person having the suspicion does not believe that the matter is being appropriately addressed or dealt with, the matter should be reported to the Senior Pastor.

Ministry team leaders must report complaints of suspected abusive behaviour or misconduct to the Senior Pastor and also to any external regulatory body such as the police.

The Senior Pastor shall inform Church Council of any reports received.

If the Senior Pastor is suspected of abusive behaviour or misconduct, the Chair of Church Council should be contacted who will, in turn, contact the relevant department of Churches of Christ in Victoria and Tasmania.

Under the Children, Youth and Families Act, people in religious ministries are now mandatory reporters of child abuse to Child Protection Services.

Mandatory reporting refers to the legal requirement for nominated groups to report a reasonable belief of physical or sexual child abuse to authorities.

The legislation states that a “person in religious ministry means a person appointed, ordained, or otherwise recognised as a religious or spiritual leader in a religious institution”.

The Chair of Bendigo Church of Christ Council must notify the Commission for Children & Young People of any allegations against any employee or volunteer or appointed leader of Bendigo Church of Christ, within 3 days of becoming aware of them.

For more information or to notify or update the CCYP of an allegation, contact:

Commission for Children and Young People
Level 18, 570 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 8601 5281
Email: childsafestandards@ccyp.vic.gov.au
Web: ccyp.vic.gov.au

Investigating

If the appropriate child protection service or the police decide to conduct an investigation of this report, all staff, ministry team leaders and ministry team members must co-operate fully with the investigation.

Whether or not the authorities decide to conduct an investigation, the Senior Pastor will consult with the authorities to determine whether an internal investigation is appropriate.

If it is decided that such an investigation will not conflict with any proceeding of the authorities, the Senior Pastor may decide to conduct such an investigation. All staff, ministry team leaders and ministry team members must co-operate fully with the investigation.

Any such investigation will be conducted according to the rules of natural justice. The Senior Pastor will make every effort to keep any such investigation confidential; however, from time to time other members of the ministry teams may need to be consulted in conjunction with the investigation.

After an initial review and a determination that the suspected abuse warrants additional investigation, the Senior Pastor shall coordinate the investigation with the appropriate investigators and /or law enforcement officials. Internal or external legal representatives will be involved in the process, as deemed appropriate.

Responding

If it is alleged that a member of staff, ministry team leader, ministry team member or participant in the Bendigo Church of Christ community may have committed an offense or have breached the organisation’s policies or its Code of Conduct the person concerned may be stood down (with pay, where applicable) while an investigation is conducted.

If the investigation concludes that on the balance of probabilities an offense (or a breach of the organisation’s policies or Code of Conduct) has occurred then disciplinary action may follow, up to and including dismissal or cessation of involvement with the organisation. The findings of the investigation will also be reported to any external body as required.

Privacy

All personal information considered or recorded will respect the privacy of the individuals involved unless there is a risk to someone’s safety. Bendigo Church of Christ will have safeguards and practices in place to ensure any personal information is protected.

Everyone is entitled to know how the personal information is recorded, what will be done with it, and who will be able to access it.

Reviewing

Every two years, and following every reportable incident, a review shall be conducted to assess whether the organisation’s child protection policies or procedures require modification to better protect the children under the organisation’s care.

Policy Currency

Approved by Church Council: November 2016; Reviewed and approved November 2019.