Goondir is committed to the continued safety and wellbeing of children and young people across the organisation and in our operations. All children and young people have a right to feel safe and to be safe. This will be a primary focus of the care we provide and the decisions we make.

Goondir is a recipient of State and Commonwealth funding and will work towards embedding the requirements of the Commonwealth Child Safe Framework (CCSF) by:

• Implementing the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
• Undertaking annual child safety risk assessments; and
• Establishing and maintaining a system of training and compliance.

Goondir will take a zero-tolerance approach to child abuse and will not tolerate any abuse or neglect of children or young people involved in Goondir programs, projects, and services.
Goondir is committed to providing a safe environment, where children, young people, families, and communities feel safe and are confident that children and young people’s rights, needs and interests are met, with particular attention paid to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as the safety of children with a disability.

The following child safety principles guide Goondir’s commitment to child safety and form the basis for the organisation’s operations.
Goondir will:

• Create physical and online environments that are child safe and child friendly.
• Maintain a culture of openness and transparency.
• Recognise and accept the moral and legal responsibility to safeguard children from child abuse both inside and outside of Goondir’s physical and online environments.
• Take a preventative, proactive and early-intervention approach to child safety.
• Ensure relevant organisational policies, procedures, activities, and expectations will be implemented and communicated across the organisation and its operations.
• Value and empower children to participate in decisions that affect their lives and take their input seriously.
• Conduct ongoing risk assessments, management and improvement of all interactions Goondir Board Directors, senior management, staff, representatives, contracted health professionals, contractors, consultants, students, visitors, and volunteers have with children.
• Foster a culture that is child and culturally safe that also respects diversity and disability in children and young people.
• Report suspected abuse, neglect, or mistreatment promptly to the appropriate authorities.
• Value the input of and communicate regularly with families and communities.

Goondir acknowledges that child protection is everyone’s responsibility. At Goondir, all Board Directors, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), senior management, staff, representatives, contracted health professionals, contractors, consultants, students, visitors, and volunteers have a shared responsibility for contributing to the safety and protection of children. These responsibilities are outlined in Goondir’s Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy to ensure the wellbeing and safety of children and young people is at the forefront of what we do and the decisions we make.
The Child Safety policy is intended to empower children who are vital and active participants in our service. We listen to their views and respect what they must say and implement what we can of their suggestions.

We promote diversity and tolerance in our service, and people from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds are welcome.

• Promote the cultural safety, participation, and empowerment of Aboriginal children
• Promote the cultural safety, participation, and empowerment of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds
• Ensure that children with a disability are safe and can participate equally.

• Goondir’s policy guides our staff, and volunteers on how to behave with children in our service.
• All our staff and volunteers must agree to abide by our code of conduct which specifies the standards of behaviour and conduct required when working with children.
• All staff, and volunteers, as well as children and their families, are given the opportunity to contribute to the development of the code of conduct.

• We take all reasonable steps to employ skilled people to work with children. We develop selection criteria and advertisements which clearly demonstrate our commitment to child safety and an awareness of our social and legislative responsibilities. Our service understands that when recruiting staff, and volunteers we have ethical as well as legislative obligations.
• We encourage applications from Aboriginal peoples, people from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds and people with a disability.
• All people engaged in child-related work, including volunteers, are required to hold a Working with Children Check and to provide evidence of this Check.
• We carry out reference checks and police record checks to ensure that we are recruiting the right people.
• If during the recruitment process a person’s records indicate a criminal history then the person will be given the opportunity to provide further information and context, the sentence, age, and nature of the crime will take into account.

This Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and Wellbeing will be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure it remains relevant to Goondir and our operations.