On 1 July 2021, the Victorian Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) announced new Child Safe Standards for Victoria (new Child Safe Standards), and advised that these new Standards would commence on 1 July 2022. All child-related organisations in Victoria are expected to comply with these new Standards from the commencement date, although they must still comply with the current Victorian Child Safe Standards (current Child Safe Standards) until then.

On 31 January 2022, the Minister for Education made a new Ministerial Order under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) – Implementing the Child Safe Standards – Managing the Risk of Child Abuse in Schools and School Boarding Premises (Ministerial Order 1359) – setting out the minimum requirements for compliance by Victorian schools and school boarding premises with the new Child Safe Standards. Compliance with Ministerial Order 1359 will be a registration requirement for all Victorian schools from 1 July 2022, although all schools must continue to comply with Ministerial Order 870 until then.

Ministerial Order 1359 greatly expands the policies, procedures, other documentation and practices that a school’s “school governing authority” must develop, endorse and implement for a school and, if it is a boarding school, for its boarding premises. It also includes important changes to definitions which will affect several areas of a school/school boarding premises, but particularly human resources practices.

Note that, just as is the case under Ministerial Order 870, who is a school’s “school governing authority” will depend on the school’s governance arrangements. The school governing authority could be:

• the school’s proprietor or someone authorised to act for or on behalf of the proprietor (such as – for schools that are part of a system of schools – the Chief Executive Officer, the school system’s Director of Child Safety or the Regional Director for that school’s region)
• the school’s governing body (such as – for independent schools – the school’s Board of Directors or Management Committee); or
• where authorised by the proprietor or the governing body, the principal.

For most schools that have a boarding program, the school governing authority will also be the “school boarding premises governing authority” for the purposes of Ministerial Order 1359.

New/Changed Definitions

In Ministerial Order 1359, the definitions of “school staff” and “school boarding premises staff” are different to those in Ministerial Order 870. Now, only those contractors who are engaged in “child-related work” (i.e. those who have direct contact with children and therefore need a WWC clearance) are included as school staff/school boarding premises staff. In addition, Volunteers are no longer included as school staff/school boarding premises staff. Because of this, a new definition of “volunteer” is included in Ministerial Order 1359: a volunteer is a person who performs work without remuneration or reward for the school or school boarding premises in the school environment or school boarding premises environment. These changes have a number of ramifications, most of which are reflected in Ministerial Order 1359’s recruitment, screening and training requirements, discussed further below.

Ministerial Order 1359 also includes a new definition of “student”: a person who is enrolled in or attends the school or a student at the school boarding premises, and then includes references to “a student” wherever reference is made to a child. This addition means that schools/school boarding premises must apply all of their child safety and wellbeing policies, procedures, other documentation, and practices to all students, including those aged 18 and over.

New/Changed Requirements

Ministerial Order 1359 includes a specific clause for each and every one of the new Child Safe Standards, setting out how schools are expected to comply with that Standard. For the most part, what is required by these clauses aligns directly with the minimum requirements set out by the CCYP for compliance with the relevant Child Safe Standard.

Clause 5 – Culturally safe environments (new Child Safe Standard 1)

Schools and school boarding premises must establish culturally safe environments in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children, young people and students are respected and valued.

A “culturally safe environment” is an environment that is spiritually, socially and emotionally safe, as well as physically safe for Aboriginal people, and where there is no assault on, challenge of or denial of their identity, who they are and what they need. The concept was originally developed specifically for Aboriginal people within health settings.

This clause applies even if there are no children or students at the school/school boarding premises who identify as Aboriginal. Note that Ministerial Order 1359 makes clear that the term “Aboriginal” incorporates both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

To comply with this clause, the school governing authority must develop and endorse a policy or statement that details the strategies and actions the school/school boarding premises will take to ensure that:

• a child or student’s ability to express their culture and enjoy their cultural rights is actively encouraged and supported
• strategies are embedded within the school/school boarding premises that equip school staff or school boarding premises staff to acknowledge and appreciate the strengths of Aboriginal culture and understand its importance to the wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal children and students
• the school/school boarding premises adopts measures to ensure racism is identified, confronted and not tolerated, and any instances of racism within the school/school boarding environment are addressed with appropriate consequences
• the school/school boarding premises actively supports and facilitates participation and inclusion of Aboriginal children and students, and their families
• all of the school’s/school boarding premises’ policies, procedures, systems and processes, taken together, create a culturally safe and inclusive environment and meet the needs of Aboriginal children and students and their families.

This clause makes clear that establishing a culturally safe environment requires specific strategies designed to ensure that a school’s policies, procedures and practices take into account, reflect and validate the cultural makeup of its students and their communities, and minimise any cultural barriers that there might be to reporting concerns.

Clause 6 – Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in leadership, governance and culture (new Child Safe Standard 2)

Schools and school boarding premises must ensure that child safety and wellbeing is embedded in school or school boarding premises leadership, governance and culture.

This clause includes many of the requirements of clauses 7, 8, 9 and 12 of Ministerial Order 870 (strategies to embed a culture of child safety, a child safe policy, a child safe code of conduct and risk management strategies to prevent abuse).

To comply with this clause, the school governing authority must:

• develop, endorse and make publicly available a child safety and wellbeing policy that includes certain specific information
• develop, endorse and make publicly available a child safety code of conduct
• develop and implement risk management strategies that focus on preventing, identifying and managing risks to children and students and take into account a number of factors specific to the particular school/school boarding premises
• record any identified risks of child abuse occurring in the school/school boarding environment and the risk controls/treatments
• monitor and review risks related to child safety and wellbeing and the effectiveness of risk controls annually
• create, maintain and dispose of records relevant to child safety and wellbeing in accordance

with Public Record Office Victoria Recordkeeping Standards, including minimum retention periods

• develop a policy or statement that details the processes the school/school boarding premises has in place to meet Public Record Office Victoria Recordkeeping Standards
• ensure that school staff/school boarding premises staff and volunteers understand their information sharing and record keeping obligations.

The addition of information sharing and record keeping requirements, in particular, means that school governing authorities will need to ensure that policies, procedures and systems for information and record keeping systems meet these requirements, to effectively support the sharing of information at all levels about risks to children, and that all staff and volunteers are provided with information and training to enable them to understand their obligations in this regard.

Clause 7– Child and student empowerment (new Child Safe Standard 3)

Schools and school boarding premises must ensure that children, young people and students are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

This clause covers the concepts included in clause 13 of Ministerial Order 870, but goes beyond just requiring strategies to deliver appropriate education to children about standards of student behaviour, healthy and respectful relationships, resilience and child abuse awareness and prevention.

It places specific obligations on the school governing authority to develop curriculum planning documents or other documentation that details the strategies and actions the school/school boarding premises will take to:

• inform children and students about all of their rights, including to safety, information and participation
• recognise the importance of friendships and encourage support from peers
• ensure that staff and volunteers are attuned to the signs of harm, and that they facilitate child-friendly ways for children and students to express their views, participate in decision-making and raise their concerns
• develop a culture that both facilities participation and is responsive to the input of children and students
• provide opportunities for children and students to participate, and be responsive to their contributions
• offer children and students access to sexual abuse prevention programs and to other relevant information, in age appropriate ways.

Most schools are already doing much of what is required by this clause, through their house/home group programs, peer support initiatives, student representative councils, child safety and wellbeing curriculum and through less formal mechanisms. School governing authorities will need to ensure that, where these are already occurring, they are properly documented as part of their child safety and wellbeing policies and procedures.

Clause 8 – Family engagement (new Child Safe Standard 4)

Schools and school boarding premises must ensure that families and communities are informed, and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.

This clause recognises that involving families and relevant communities in developing, reviewing and implementing the child safety and wellbeing systems at a school/school boarding environment is essential to foster an open and transparent child safe culture.

To comply with this clause, the school governing authority must develop a policy, statement or other documentation that details the strategies and actions the school/school boarding premises will take to ensure that:

• families participate in decisions relating to child safety and wellbeing that affect their child
• the school/school boarding premises engages and openly communicates with families and the school community about its approach to child safety, and that relevant information is accessible
• families and the school community have a say in the development and review of the school’s/school boarding premises’ policies and procedures related to child safety and wellbeing
• families, carers and the school community are informed about the school’s/school boarding premises’ operations and governance related to child safety and wellbeing.

Ministerial Order 1359 does not define what is the “school community”. Based on CCYP guidance on the new Child Safe Standards (and guidance from the Australian Human Rights Commission on the relevant Principle in the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, on which this new Child Safe Standard is based), the school community includes not just staff, students and their families, but also members of communities that are relevant to the school/school boarding premises. For example, relevant communities might include the local community surrounding the school, the traditional owners of the land on which the school sits, the cultural, linguistic and other communities that make up the staff and student cohort and, for school boarding premises, the local, interstate and international communities from which boarding students may come.

To implement this clause, school governing authorities will need to consider which communities may be relevant to their particular school/school boarding premises and ensure that the information and involvement strategies developed to meet this clause incorporate their specific communication needs.

Clause 9 – Diversity and equity (new Child Safe Standard 5)

Schools and school boarding premises must ensure that equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.

This clause covers, but expands significantly on, the concepts in clause 6 of Ministerial Order 870.

It creates specific obligations on the school governing authority to develop and endorse a policy, statement or curriculum document that details the strategies and actions the school/school boarding premises will take to ensure that:

• the school/school boarding premises and its staff and volunteers understand children’s and students’ diverse circumstances and provide support and respond to vulnerable children and students
• children, students, staff volunteers and the school community have access to information, support and complaints processes in ways that are culturally safe, accessible and easy to understand
• the school/school boarding premises pays particular attention to the needs of children and young people with disability and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, those who are unable to live at home, international students and LGBTIQ+ children and students
• the school/school boarding premises pays particular attention to the needs of Aboriginal children and students and provides and promotes a culturally safe environment for them.

To implement this clause, school governing authorities will need to consider how to provide training and information to staff and volunteers about identifying, supporting and responding to vulnerable children and how to create a safe environment for these children. Strategies might include ensuring that school staff/school boarding premises staff and volunteers reflect the diversity makeup of the student cohort, engaging a cultural liaison who can reach out to and provide advice about the needs of relevant communities and providing cultural awareness training to staff and relevant volunteers.

Clause 10 – Suitable staff and volunteers (new Child Safe Standard 6)

Schools and school boarding premises must ensure that people working with children and students are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.

This clause covers, and expands on, the concepts included in clause 10 of Ministerial Order 870. It also includes revised human resources and induction requirements to:

• reflect that the new definitions of “school staff” or “school boarding premises staff” do not include volunteers
• clarify that WWC clearance information/equivalent background screening information is only required, for school staff/school boarding premises staff and for those volunteers who are engaged in child-connected work, if the person is required to have a WWC clearance under the Worker Screening Act or under an equivalent background check (such as registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching)
• no longer require the same recruitment and screening processes for volunteers engaged in child-connected work, and instead enable schools/school boarding premises to consider what kinds of screening processes, other than legal requirements under the WWC Check scheme, are reasonable and appropriate for volunteers engaged in child-connected work, depending on the child safety risks relevant to their role
• enable schools/school boarding premises to tailor the child safety and wellbeing induction provided to school staff/school boarding premises staff and to volunteers engaged in child-connected work, depending on, and so that it is appropriate to, the nature of their role (provided that these volunteers receive a minimum level of information about the child safety and wellbeing policy and child safety code of conduct).

To comply with this clause, the school governing authority must:

• ensure that recruitment advertisements for school staff/school boarding premises staff meet certain requirements and that all applicants for school staff/school boarding premises jobs are informed about the school’s/school boarding premises’ child safety practices and child safety code of conduct
• when engaging volunteers in child-connected work, ensure that these volunteers are made aware of the child safety and wellbeing policy and the child safety code of conduct
• when engaging school staff/school boarding premises staff in child-connected work (unless these have been undertaken in the past 12 months for the particular individual):
  • sight, verify and record the person’s WWC clearance or equivalent background check if they are required to have one by law
  • if the person will be engaged in child-related work (i.e. they are required to hold a WWC clearance unless otherwise exempt), collect and record proof of identity, information about their qualifications, history of working with children and references that address their suitability for the job and for working with children
• when engaging volunteers in child-connected work (unless these have been undertaken in the past 12 months for the particular individual):
  • sight, verify and record the person’s WWC clearance or equivalent background check if they are required to have one by law
  • consider the child safety risks relevant to the volunteer’s role, and if reasonable and appropriate, collect and record proof of identity, information about their qualifications, history of working with children and references that address their suitability for the job and for working with children
• ensure that school staff/school boarding premises staff, the school governing authority and volunteers engaged in child-connected work receive an induction regarding child safety and wellbeing that is appropriate to the nature of their role, including in particular information on the child safety code of conduct and – where relevant to their role – policies and procedures for managing complaints and concerns related to child abuse
• ensure that school staff/school boarding premises staff, members of the governing body, and volunteers engaged in child-connected work, are aware of their responsibilities to children and students, information sharing and reporting obligations, and record keeping obligations
• ensure that ongoing supervision and people management of staff and volunteers focus on child safety and wellbeing.

To implement this clause, school governing authorities will need to consider, in particular, what child safe recruitment practices should apply to which volunteers, and how to provide volunteers with induction training. In addition, the focus on including information sharing and record keeping obligations in induction for staff and relevant volunteers means that school governing authorities will need to review their current induction programs to make sure that these areas are covered.

Clause 11 – Complaints processes (new Child Safe Standard 7)

Schools and school boarding premises must ensure that processes for complaints and concerns are child focused.

This clause includes all of the requirements in clause 11 of Ministerial Order 870 but adds significant additional requirements related to ensuring that the school/school boarding premises complaints handling system is child focused. The clause goes further than Ministerial Order 870 by recognising that not only should a school/school boarding premises have clear procedures for responding to concerns and allegations, but also that it needs a complaints handling system that encourages children and families to report child safety incidents or concerns to it. In order for this to occur, the school’s/school boarding premises’ complaints handling system must be child focused, culturally safe and easily understood.

A child focused complaints handling system is:

• one in which the rights, safety and wellbeing of children and young people are promoted
• accessible and responsive to the needs of children and young people and their parents/carers
• one in which complaints are dealt with promptly, thoroughly and fairly.

To comply with this clause, the school governing authority must:

• develop a complaints handling policy that is made publicly available and that is accessible, child focused, culturally safe and easily understood by the school community, and that includes certain specific information
• ensure that complaints are taken seriously and responded to promptly
• have policies and procedures in place that address the reporting of complaints and concerns to relevant authorities (whether or not the law requires reporting) and require cooperation with law enforcement
• ensure record keeping, reporting, privacy and employment law obligations are met when responding to complaints and concerns
• have a clear procedure or set of procedures for responding to complaints and concerns relating to child abuse that meet the same requirements as set out in clause 11 of Ministerial Order 870.

To implement this clause, school governing authorities will need to consider whether their current complaints handling policy meets these requirements and, if not, what adjustments are required to make the school’s/school boarding premises’ complaints handling system more child focused. It may be that a new public-facing complaints handling policy should be developed, and written in accessible and culturally appropriate language, for publication on the school’s public website. Similarly, school governing authorities might consider developing a child-friendly version for students.

Clause 12 – Child safety knowledge, skills and awareness (new Child Safe Standard 8)

Schools and school boarding premises must ensure that staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and students safe through ongoing education and training.

This clause incorporates aspects of clauses 10 and 12 of Ministerial Order 870 but is more prescriptive and explicit. It:

• significantly expands the topics that must be covered in annual training for school staff/school boarding premises staff who are engaged in child-connected work
• reflects that the new definitions of “school staff” or “school boarding premises staff” do not include volunteers, and enables schools/school boarding premises to consider what child safety training and information it considers is reasonable and necessary to provide to volunteers engaged in child-connected work, ensuring that this training is appropriate to the nature and responsibilities of their role.

To comply with this clause, the school governing authority must ensure that:

• school staff/school boarding premises staff who are engaged in child-connected work receive training and information in a number of topics relevant to child safety, including not only recognising and responding to child abuse and the school’s/school boarding premises’ child safety and wellbeing policies and child safety code of conduct, but also on how to build culturally safe environments, how to identify and mitigate risks of child abuse, and information sharing and record keeping obligations
• volunteers engaged in child-connected work receive child safety training that is appropriate to the nature and responsibilities of their role
• members of the school’s/school boarding premises governing body receive annual training on the same topics as are required under Ministerial Order 870.

Similarly to clause 10, to implement this clause, school governing authorities will need to consider, in particular, how to provide volunteers with (and what kind of) ongoing education and training about child safety, and to review their ongoing education and training programs to make sure that all of the required areas are covered.

Clause 13 - Child Safety in physical and online environments (new Child Safe Standard 9)

Schools and school boarding premises must ensure that physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children, young people and students to be harmed.

This clause incorporates some aspects of clause 12 of Ministerial Order 870 (with the remainder transferred to and covered in clause 6), but expands on these.

It creates specific obligations on the school governing authority to:

• ensure that the school’s/school boarding premises’ child safety and wellbeing policies, procedures and practices enable school staff/school boarding premises staff and volunteers to identify and mitigate risks in school/school boarding environments without compromising a child or student’s right to privacy, access to information, social connections and learning opportunities
• develop and endorse a policy or statement on online conduct that is consistent with the child safety code of conduct and other child safety and wellbeing policies and practices
• ensure that the school’s/school boarding premises’ policies and procedures for procuring services from third parties ensure the safety of children and students.

To implement this clause, school governing authorities should review their school’s/school boarding premises’ current codes of conduct relevant to online activities (for example, policies and/or codes of conduct about email, social media and internet use by staff, volunteers and students) to ensure that they are consistent with the child safety code of conduct and child safety and wellbeing policy. School governing authorities should also review and amend relevant procurement policies to reflect child safety and wellbeing requirements.

Clause 14 – Review of child safety practices (new Child Safe Standard 10)

Schools and school boarding premises must ensure that implementation of Ministerial Order 1359 is regularly reviewed and improved.

This clause incorporates, but expands significantly on, the review/monitoring and evaluation requirements for embedding child safety and risk management strategies that are in clauses 7 and 12 of Ministerial Order 870. It recognises that, to be a child safe organisation, a school must regularly review and continuously improve its child safety and wellbeing policies and procedures.

This clause is complemented by clauses 7, 8 and 9, which require the school governing authority to ensure that information is provided to, and to include/encourage the involvement of, children and students, families and relevant communities when developing and reviewing child safety and wellbeing policies, procedures and practices.

To comply with this clause, the school governing authority must:

• review and evaluate the school’s/school boarding premises’ child safety and wellbeing policies, procedures and practices (and improve these where applicable):
  • after any significant child safety incident; or
  • at least every two years
• ensure that complaints, concerns and safety incidents are analysed to identify causes and systemic failure and to inform continuous improvement
• report the findings of relevant reviews to school staff/school boarding premises staff, volunteers, the school community, families and students.

To implement this clause, school governing authorities will need to set a review and improvement schedule of at least every two years, and to put in place processes for consulting with and involving the wide variety of school community members in these reviews, in addition to the other requirements of this clause.

Clause 15 – Implementation of child safety practices (new Child Safe Standard 11)

Schools and school boarding premises must have policies and procedures that document how the school/school boarding premises is safe for children, young people and students.

This clause has no direct equivalent in Ministerial Order 870, although as a whole, Ministerial Order 870 requires schools/school boarding premises to have policies and procedures that support its implementation.

This clause complements, and is complemented by, clause 6 (which requires the embedding of child safety and wellbeing in leadership, governance and culture) and clause 14 (which requires reviews and improvement of child safety and wellbeing policies, procedures and practices).

To comply with this clause, the school governing authority must ensure that:

• the school/school boarding premises implements the child safe environment practices that are required by the Order
• the policies and procedures required by the Order:
  • address all 11 of the new Child Safe Standards
  • are understood and implemented by all relevant school staff/school boarding premises staff, the governing body and volunteers
  • are championed and modelled by leaders
  • are documented and easy to understand
  • are informed by best practice models and stakeholder consultation.

To implement this clause, school governing authorities should consider the mechanisms that it will put in place, or that it already has, to verify that the school/school boarding premises and its staff, volunteers and contractors are actually implementing child safety and wellbeing policies and procedures (for example, regular surveys of practice and understanding, regular audits by an independent auditor, requiring an attestation of compliance by the school’s principal/head of boarding, etc).