Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework

If you're worried, unsure, or not feeling safe, there are places you can go for help.

Information and advice is available via the link below.

I’m under 18 - Tell Someone

Or, you can call the Strong Families Safe Kids Advice and Referral Line on 1800 000 123 to talk to someone.

If there is an emergency where there is immediate risk of harm or a crime is happening now, contact police by calling Triple Zero (000).

If you believe a crime may have been committed, you can contact the non-emergency police line on 131 444 or report anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Call the Strong Families Safe Kids Advice and Referral Line by phone on 1800 000 123 or by using the online contact form.

The Strong Families Safe Kids Advice and Referral Line is the first point of contact for concerns about child wellbeing and safety. Anyone with a concern about a child or young person can call. Concerns can also be reported online through the advice and referral line’s online contact form. You can also visit the website for more information.

If you believe a crime has occurred contact the non-emergency police line on 131 444 or report anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Visit the Tell Someone website to learn more about child sexual abuse and what grooming behaviour looks like.

If you are concerned about the behaviour of a City of Launceston employee, volunteer, contractor or councillor towards a child or young person, you can report your concerns directly to the Independent Regulator or to the City of Launceston in the following ways:

• Call 03 6323 3000 - you will be directed to the Senior Leader People and Culture or the Team Leader Human Resources who are equipped to safely receive your report.
• Email childsafe@launceston.tas.gov.au including the details of your concern and the person you are concerned about. Access to this email is limited to senior Human Resources leaders and the CEO. 

If you are you concerned about the behaviour of a Government worker towards a child or young person, report your concerns directly to the Independent Regulator or the specific Department. A Government worker is any employee, contractor or volunteer working with a government organisation.

Report your concern to directly to the relevant Department:

• Report to the Department of Health
• Report to the Department of Justice
• Report to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania
• Report to the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management
• Report to the Department of Premier and Cabinet (including Service Tasmania)
• Report to the Department of State Growth

Background

The Australian Child Maltreatment Study (2023) is the first nationally representative study of the prevalence of child maltreatment and its associated health outcomes in Australia. It found, from a survey of 8500 Australians aged 16 – 65+, that:

• The overall prevalence of child sexual abuse in Australia is 28.5%
• Almost 1 in 4 experienced one or more types of contact child sexual abuse
• Almost 1 in 5 experienced non-contact child sexual abuse

The Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act 2023 (the Act) is the Tasmanian law that establishes standards for the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. The Act was established in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2012 – 2015) and the Commission of Enquiry into the Tasmanian Governments Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings (2021 – 2023).

The Royal Commission found:

• Many organisations failed to protect children in their care from abuse
• These failures were historical and contemporary, meaning they didn’t only happen ‘in the past’
• The institutional cultures and practices that allowed abuse to happen and stopped people investigating it properly were still happening

The Royal Commission made recommendations designed to put these things right, including:

• The development of a national set of child safe standards (which became the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations)
• That places in Australia that didn’t already have a reportable conduct scheme in place should develop and implement one

Notice of Motion

At the 21 September 2023 Council Meeting a Notice of Motion from Councillor Dawkins entitled ‘Establishing a Leadership Role for City of Launceston in the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse’ was passed 11-1.
The recommendation, in part, called upon Council “To show local community leadership and responsiveness to the revelations of widespread historic and contemporary child sexual abuse in Launceston”

The Framework

The Act establishes the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework (the Framework) which Councils are required to comply with from January 1st 2024. The Framework is made up of four key elements:

The Child and Youth Safe Standards and Universal Principle of Aboriginal Cultural Safety

• Ten principles organisations must put into practice to develop and maintain a culture with child safety and wellbeing at its centre
• A universal principle which overlays all standards ensuring the cultural safety of Aboriginal people.

The Reportable Conduct Scheme

• A compulsory scheme that requires leaders of certain organisations to report and investigate concerns about conduct related to child abuse involving a worker to an independent regulator

Office of the Independent Regulator (OIR)

• An independent regulatory body that will oversee the Framework to make sure organisations have the support, advice, and education they need to do the right thing

Information Sharing Provisions

• Specific rules written into the law that mean people and organisations connected to the Framework can share personal information in certain circumstances.

The Office of the Independent Regulator oversees Tasmanian organisations (including sole traders) required to comply with the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework.

The Independent Regulator:

• is independent from the Tasmanian Government and reports to parliament, not a department
• oversees a wide range of Tasmanian organisations that engage with children and young people
• assists organisations to comply with the Child and Youth Safe Standards and the Universal Principle
• builds the capability of organisations to prevent, identify, and respond to harm to children and young people
• ensures organisations report and undertake investigations correctly in line with the Reportable Conduct Scheme
• is established and given powers under the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act 2023
• has significant enforcement powers to ensure compliance
• can share information in the interests of protecting children and young people
• will collect and report on trends in relation to child and youth safe organisations

As a part of their role they provide information to organisations which can be accessed at this page. This page makes resources available to a wide audience including organisations, workers, parents and children to assist with understanding the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework. These resources were developed by the Department of Justice and have been endorsed by the Office of the Independent Regulator.

Resources | Office of the Independent Regulator

Need more information?
If you would like more information about the signs of child sexual abuse and how to talk to a child who may be at risk, you can visit the Tell Someone website.

Need support?
Support is available by phone, online or in-person for anyone who needs it. For information about how to access support, visit the support page.For advice or to refer an abuse matter, contact the Advice and Referral Line (ARL) on 1800 000 123.