Reportable Conduct Scheme – Victoria
Victoria has prescriptive child safety legislation under the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 (Vic) which underpins the Child Safe Standards and the Reportable Conduct Scheme.
Organisations must adhere to their legal obligations to comply with the Child Safe Standards and the Reportable Conduct Scheme if they are required to do so. A snapshot of the Victorian child safety legislative landscape is below:
- In 2016, Victoria introduced the Child Safe Standards, and in 2022 the Child Safe Standards were amended to be reflective of The National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
- Victoria has an additional standard that is focused on creating a culturally safe environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. You can view them here.
- The Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) together with other government regulators ensure that the Child Safe Standards are being implemented by organisations and properly complied with.
- In 2023, the CCYP and other government regulators were given increased enforcement powers to ensure that the Child Safe Standards are properly monitored and enforced
- In 2017, the Reportable Conduct Scheme was rolled out across Victoria
- The CCYP the Reportable Conduct Scheme and ensures independent oversight of institutional responses to child abuse including oversight of investigations.
- The CCYP may commence own motion investigations in some circumstances
- The CCYP and regulators have the capacity to share information in relation to reportable allegations and the investigation of child safety concerns
Click the button below to your free Reportable Conduct Scheme Checklist to assist your organisation to comply with its Child Safety and Safeguarding obligations and make your organisation a Safe Space for children and vulnerable people.
How Safe Space Legal can help:
The team at Safe Space Legal have extensive experience working with organisations across Victoria to ensure they are meeting their legal obligations when working with children and young people. Safe Space Legal offer a large range of services including:
Investigations
Conducting investigations which are compliant with the Victorian Reportable Conduct Scheme
Procedure Implementation
Drafting child safety policies, procedures, codes of conduct and complaints handling processes which are compliant with the Victorian Child Safe Standards
Training and Education
Providing tailored child safety training on legal obligations, duty of care, the Reportable Conduct Scheme, investigations and the Child Safe Standards
Compliance Audits
Conducting audits against the Child Safe Standards to recognise practice and policy gaps and improve organisational safeguarding
Legal Support
Providing expert legal advice on safeguarding and child safety matters
Crisis Management
Root cause analysis of critical child safety incidents to improve organisational safeguarding and compliance with legislative obligations.