Legal requirements in Australia

Victoria’s new Child Safe Standards require certain roles and responsibilities to be allocated within schools.  Standard 1 in particular, requires the school community to be informed about a school’s strategies to embed cultural change, and the allocation of roles and responsibilities to implement those strategies. The Department of Health and Human Services has recommended in its Overview  of the Victorian Child Safe Standards guidance (available here) that to meet Standard 1, schools should adopt the strategy of having someone appropriately trained as a child safety officer or champion. This recommendation can be implemented by appointing a member or members of staff as “Child Protection Officers”.  The exact title of such a position is a decision to be made by a school in consideration of other position titles within the school community and regulatory authorities/departments.

The concept of Child Protection Officers, or CPOs, is relatively new.  In the last few years the South Australian Government has recommended a similar strategy to schools in that State as a way of helping them to work towards establishing and maintaining child safe environments, as required by the  Children’s Protection Act 1993 (SA).

Principle Two of the seven Principles of Good Practice issued by the SA Department for Education and Child Development, requires a school to 'develop a clear and accessible child safe policy'.  To comply with Principle Two, Families SA recommends that:

The Queensland Government suggests that organisations such as schools appoint a "contact officer" to deal with child protection issues and act as a point of contact.  Although this is not mandated, it is a recommended risk management strategy and the particular duties of the role need to be defined by organisations individually.

At a Federal level, the National Safe Schools Framework (Element 1.6) requires “identification and support of key staff with specific responsibilities for student safety and wellbeing -  to ensure that identified staff have the capacity to implement policy directions and inspire their colleagues to do the same.”  In the ACT, compliance with the Safe Schools Framework is a registration requirement.

The rationale behind creating the role of CPO or Child Safety Officer,  is to have a clear allocation of roles and responsibilities for a school’s approach to child protection.  It allows a school to hear and remain informed about allegations or concerns about child safety.  A school also benefits from equipping nominated staff members with a higher level of knowledge and skills to handle child protection issues, respond to allegations or disclosures of child abuse and ensure allegations are recorded in line with a school’s policy. This requires schools to facilitate CPOs undertaking specialised training.

What is the Role of a CPO?

Every school in Australia, regardless of the child protection laws  that apply  in their State or Territory, should consider appointing a CPO or Child Safety Officer (suggested titles) as part  of their  implementation of risk management strategies to manage  the  risk of a child protection incident. Because the Victorian and South Australian guidance materials do not provide a comprehensive  job description or list of roles and responsbilities for a CPO, schools must  consider how they will structure the  creation of such a  position and the level of responsibility and authority that the person in that  role will hold.

The role and responsibilities of a CPO will vary between schools and will be influenced by factors such as size, gender and cultural diversity and whether a school has boarding facilities or international students.  However, the role can generally be divided into three main components. All CPOs should act as a point of contact for both staff and students.  They also need to take action when any child protection incidents are reported to them, including providing support to affected members of the school community.  Finally, CPOs should be responsible for reviewing a school’s processes and procedures to respond to allegations or disclosures.  Whilst all CPOs should take on the responsibilities that fall under the first two components, responsibilities under the review process can be divided between CPOs.  Again, this is something that should be determined by schools individually.

Who should be Appointed as a CPO?

Although a staff member’s position within a school may be taken into account when determining who is to be appointed CPO, this should not be the only basis upon which a person should be appointed.

A school should consider individual staff members, their willingness and availability to take on the role and whether their skills, experience and personal attributes satisfy the requirements of the role.  It is preferable that the staff, parents and children know and trust this person. Parachuting someone into this role from outside of the school, unless they have an incredibly well known reputation, may delay the development of the necessary cultural changes- it takes a long time for trust to develop. CPOs do not need to have any particular qualifications such as social work or psychology, although staff members with these qualifications (for example, school counsellors) may have many of the skills required for the role.  What is important is that CPOs have the time to fulfil the role and undergo appropriate training.  Schools therefore need to allocate time to CPOs to undertake their duties as a priority.

The question of who should take on the role of CPO will also depend on the role description.  A school needs to determine the responsibilities of its CPO and, if they intend to appoint more than one, how the responsibilities are to be shared.  The person must have the ability to promote and drive cultural change- they need to be given more than just the title- they need funding, time and authority to do the job as required by the Act. The person will need a direct line to the principal or his/her delegate.

Compliance with the Principle of Inclusion in the Victorian Ministerial Order, gender diversity and, if more than one person is to be appointed, the skills and attributes of other potential CPOs, will all influence who is appointed.  The number of CPOs to be appointed will require a school to undertake a risk assessment.  There should always be at least one CPO available to members of the school community.

As the main point of contact regarding child protection incidents, CPOs should be approachable and accessible.  This means that all members of the school community, including staff, students and parents, should feel comfortable approaching a CPO to discuss any child protection matters.  CPOs also need to have the confidence and acumen to cope with any issues that may arise and liaise with school management and governing authorities.

Reporting Obligations

One of the purposes of appointing CPOs is to have a clear process in place to report allegations of child abuse.  However, school community members must remember that a report to a CPO does not satisfy any other legal obligations to report child abuse events, such as mandatory reporting obligations or the obligation to report a sexual offence.

Ultimately, the decision to appoint CPOs contributes to a school’s compliance with the Child Safe Standards in Victoria, including forming a key part of its risk management strategy on child protection.  It is one of a number of strategies that a school should adopt to show it is prioritising child safety within its community and encouraging a child safe environment.

But regardless of the Victorian requirements, the benefits of appointing a CPO can be realised by any school in Australia and all schools should be considering the appointment of such a position as part of their child protection program.