Child Safe Policy

Revised November 2024

1. Our commitment to child safety

The Harrison Riedel Foundation (HRF) is deeply committed to the safety, empowerment, and wellbeing of all individuals involved, particularly children and young people under 18 years of age. HRF is dedicated to embedding the NSW Child Safe Standards throughout its organisational culture and practices, prioritising a holistic approach to child protection and welfare.

HRF provides a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment for all young people across our programs and services, including the YourCrew app. Our zero-tolerance policy extends to all forms of harm, including abuse, neglect, bullying, and exploitation. We uphold rigorous policies and procedures to identify, prevent, and address risks to child safety, and we take swift, appropriate action when concerns arise.

We are committed to proactively identifying and mitigating risks, fostering a culture of respect, and ensuring compliance with all legal obligations, including mandatory reporting. Our human resources and recruitment practices are designed to minimise risks and uphold our standards of safety and protection.

2. Protecting Our Children

HRF's Child Safe Policy reflects our commitment to providing children and young people with a safe, empowering, and enjoyable experience. We recognise the active role children play in shaping the YourCrew app and School Program and ensure their voices are heard and valued.

We actively promote respect, inclusion, and safety for all young people, regardless of their cultural background, gender identity, abilities, or personal circumstances. Diversity is celebrated, and we work diligently to create environments free from harm, including physical, emotional, and psychological abuse, as well as neglect, harassment, and bullying.

3. Training

HRF is committed to continuous education and training for all board members, staff, and volunteers to enhance their understanding of child protection and safety. This includes recognising signs of abuse, neglect, bullying, or any form of harm, and taking appropriate measures to respond.

Annual training ensures our team can identify risks, assess potential threats, and take preventative action. Our culture fosters open discussions about safety concerns, empowering board members, staff, contractors, volunteers, families, and children to raise and address issues confidently. All new personnel receive comprehensive onboarding to understand their responsibilities in safeguarding young people.

Any incident of inappropriate behaviour, neglect, bullying, or abuse will be documented in an Incident Report and reported as required by law, including to external authorities when necessary.

4. Recruitment

HRF upholds diligent and ethical recruitment practices to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children. We create selection criteria and advertisements that reflect our commitment to child safety, ensuring prospective board members, staff, and volunteers are aware of their responsibilities.

All individuals engaged in child-related work must hold a current Working With Children Check (WWCC), and undergo reference checks to verify their suitability for working with young people.

Where applicable, HRF staff or contractors must also have a police check.

5. Fair procedures for staff and volunteers

HRF is fair and reasonable to all children, staff and volunteers and is committed to ensuring that its decisions are always thorough, transparent, and evidence-based.

6. Privacy

HRF handles all personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). We respect the privacy of children, families, staff, and volunteers, except when disclosure is necessary to ensure safety or comply with the law.

Incident reports, including those related to abuse, neglect, or bullying, are securely stored. HRF provides regular updates to affected individuals about the progress and outcome of any safety concerns or allegations.

7. Risk management

HRF employs comprehensive risk management strategies to identify, assess, and reduce risks to child safety, whether in physical or online environments. This includes ongoing evaluations to ensure our practices effectively minimise the potential for harm.

8. Child Protection and Reporting Procedures

We have clear internal procedures for reporting concerns related to child abuse, neglect, bullying, or any harmful behaviour:

• Any concerns must be reported to a Manager, the HRF CEO, or the HRF Public Officer.
• Reports are documented using an Incident Report, and next steps will be communicated to those involved.
• The HRF CEO is responsible for immediately reporting suspected or confirmed cases of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or non-compliance with child protection policies to external authorities as required by law.

9. Allegations, concerns and complaints

HRF treats all allegations with the utmost seriousness, whether related to abuse, neglect, bullying, or other harmful behaviours. We ensure comprehensive investigations are conducted, and all children, families, staff, and volunteers are aware of the process and feel secure in raising concerns.

All members of our organisation are responsible for reporting incidents if they reasonably believe a child is at risk of harm. Indicators of reasonable belief include:

• A child disclosing harm or abuse.
• A child displaying signs consistent with being abused or neglected.
• Concerns raised by others, even if they are unwilling to report.
• Witnessing suspicious or harmful behaviour.

10. Regular review

This policy undergoes review every two years or following significant incidents, ensuring it remains effective and compliant with legal and ethical standards.

11. Associated Documents

1. Child Safe Code of Conduct Individual Declaration
2. HRF Privacy Policy
3. HRF Internal Reporting Procedure Guidelines
4. HRF Child Safety Incidence Report
5. YourCrew App Code of Conduct
6. Deloitte Risk and Readiness Review YourCrew App (2018) – internal

12. Associated legislation and guidelines

Refer to the following resources for specific state and territory guidelines on child protection:

• Australian Child Protection Legislation
• Reporting Guidelines
• Mandatory Reporting Guidelines
• Understanding Abuse and Neglect
• WWCC Requirements