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Barossa Enterprises is a provider of employment pathways to school children (with and without disability) engaging in work experience, paid school holiday work, and school leavers looking to take the first steps to sustainable employment. Barossa Enterprises also suppsupports parents with disability, and staff may have contact with their children from time to time.
The purpose of this policy is to ensure an organisational framework and culture exists which ensures the safety, welfare and wellbeing of children, and that children are protected from harm and risk of harm or harm during their interactions with the organisation.
Scope This policy and procedure applies to all Barossa Enterprises personnel including and not limited to paid and unpaid staff, board members, executive and leadership, supported staff and support staff, student placements, contractors and consultants
Policy Statement Barossa Enterprises believes that all people engaged in the delivery or receipt of our services have a right to safety in all areas within our responsibility. Barossa Enterprises recognises that people with disabilities are some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and that childhood is a particularly vulnerable period in a person’s life. This places an additional onus on those staff working with children to identify and protect them from harm and risk of harm.
Definitions For the purposes of this policy;
A ‘child’ is an individual under the age of 18 years
‘child-related work’ is defined as work which involves engagement with a child including:
Supervision, guidance and direction given in the workplace
Face-to-face contact in an office or area outside of the production or manufacturing area
Any communication including oral, written and electronic media
‘abuse and harm’ is defined as any action, or lack of action, that harms the child’s physical, psychological or emotional health and development.
‘children’s right’s’ are defined as a child’s entitlement to thrive, develop and be
safe, participate in decisions that affect them, be free from discrimination and to have their best interests as a primary consideration in all actions concerning them.
National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
When developing, implementing and reviewing internal policies, procedures and work practices, the following ten national principles (which have been developed by the
Australian Human Rights Commission) are considered.
The ten National Principles are:
Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.
Children and young people are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.
People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
Processes for complaints and concerns are child focused.
Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
Implementation of the national child safe principles is regularly reviewed and improved.
Policies and procedures document how the organisation is safe for children and young people. Policies are to be reviewed and updated at least once in a 5-year period and a new compliance statement lodgement is lodged with Department of Human Services each time policies are reviewed/updated.
Regular Risk Assessment
A risk management approach is taken towards ensuring appropriately trained staff
Screening of new staff - All staff are to have either a Working with Children and Vulnerable People check, or NDIS Screening Check.
Child Safe Training – Full certificate on commencement with a refresher course every 3 years
Reporting – all staff are aware of their obligation to report harm or risk of harm, as well as critical and non-critical incidents.
Risk assessments conducted on activities which involve children, or may impact on children.
Standards and Obligations
All Barossa Enterprises staff who come into contact with children and young people through their work will:
uphold the rights of children and young people to feel heard on matters relevant to
their safety
provide a welcoming, inclusive and safe environment that supports and values the ideas and opinions of children and young people and treats them with respect regardless of their race, colour, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, culture, property, disability or other status
actively promote and consider the cultural safety and inclusion of all children and young people
empower children and young people by providing an environment where they can actively participate and ‘have a say’, especially on issues that are important to them. This is achieved by
thinking about children as genuine stakeholders in the future of the business
Letting children know that their opinions matter. Encourage them to access “Have Your Say’ on the Intranet
Explain to children what actions will take place when they express an opinion or raise a complaint or concern
Ensure that we continue to explore ways to become more accessible and inclusive
Take every opportunity to engage in meaningful engagement and consultation with young people.
listen and respond to the views and concerns of children and young people, including where it relates to concerns that they feel unsafe. This is achieved by ensuring children understand their rights and how they should expect to be treated within the organisation.
abide by Barossa Enterprises commitment and obligation to be a child safe organisation
identify and mitigate risks to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people
take all reasonable steps to protect children and young people from harm and risk of harm
challenge ‘low level’ unacceptable behaviour e.g., comments that may be misinterpreted, an unwarranted smile or smirk, a joke of a dubious nature etc, and report concerns as outlined in our “Critical and Non-critical Reporting” procedure.
report any concerns, allegations, disclosures or observations of harm or risk of harm to a child or young person in line with Barossa Enterprises policies and processes, mandatory reporting and reportable incident requirements. As of 1.6.22 the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 section 64A- failure to report child sexual abuse (maximum penalty of 3 years imprisonment) and section 65 failure to protect a child from sexual abuse (maximum of 15 years imprisonment).
report all “non-critical” child safety concerns to your Line Manager or other Senior Manager to ensure continuous improvement opportunities.
work with children and young people in an open and transparent way. For example, by ensuring that where appropriate, interactions with children and young people can be observed by other adults
respect the privacy of children and young people and their families and only disclose information to people on a need-to-know basis and in accordance with Cth Privacy Act 1988 and the SA Information Sharing Guidelines.
always observe professional boundaries with children and young people
disclose any information of charges, convictions of abuse and all other offence history in accordance with Barossa Enterprises Recruitment & Selection Policy.
Staff of Barossa Enterprises must not:
condone or participate in behaviour that is illegal, unsafe or harmful to children and young people.
ignore or disregard any concerns, suspicions or disclosures of harm or risk of harm to a child or young person.
exaggerate or trivialise allegations or issues relating to harm or risk of harm to a child or young person or the safety and wellbeing of children and young people
discriminate against children and young people based on their age, gender identity, sex, race, cultural or sexual orientation.
develop inappropriate relationships with children or young people, including relationships that show favouritism.
display violent or inappropriate behaviour towards a child or young person.
initiate unnecessary physical contact with children and young people or exhibit behaviours with children and young people which may be construed as inappropriate
put children and young people at risk of harm (for example, by allowing unnecessary one-adult/one-child encounters to occur)
conduct a sexual relationship with a child or young person or indulge in any form of sexual contact with a child or young person
engage in open discussions of a mature nature in the presence of children and young people
use inappropriate, offensive, harassing, abusive, sexually provocative, demeaning, culturally inappropriate or discriminatory language when speaking with, or in the presence of, a child or young person
discriminate against any child or young person, including because of age, gender, race, culture, vulnerability, sexuality, ethnicity or disability
use any computer, mobile phone, or video and digital camera to exploit or harass children and young people or expose them to offensive or sexualised content.
exchange personal contact details with a child or young person such as phone number, social networking sites or email address, unless necessary
have unauthorised contact with a child or young person client or their family outside of the purpose for work, including online, on social media or by phone.
Any behaviour which breaches of the Standards and Obligations should be reported as per our “Reporting Harm, Risk of Harm, Abuse or Neglect Policy”, and “Critical & Non-Critical Incident Management & Reporting” Procedure. Consequences for Breaching the Standards and Obligations will be dealt with as outlined in 5. Consequences for Breach in Code of Conduct in our Code of Conduct.
Responsibilities
Ensuring the safety, welfare and wellbeing of children is the responsibility of all personnel engaged by Barossa Enterprises, who have contact with children as part of their work.
Personnel are to be made aware of and comply with legislative requirements that support child safety. This includes the need for Working with Children Checks or Vulnerable People Assessments required under state or territory legislation, if they are engaged by Barossa Enterprises to work with children.
Policy Administration
As per the Children and Young People (Safety) Act (s.115) all policies are to be reviewed and updated at least once in a 5-year period and a new compliance statement
lodgement is required with Department of Human Service each time the policy is
reviewed/updated.