We are building a culture of safety and wellbeing for all Queensland children through the Child Safe Organisations system.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Keep up to date
Child Safe Standards
Implementation in Queensland
Resources and training
Frequently Asked Questions
The new Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 is designed to promote the safety, wellbeing and best interests of all Queensland children. The legislation has two key parts that will align Queensland with national and international child protection standards, ensuring we are all working to safeguard children:
1. Child Safe Organisations
Organisations that engage in child related work, provide services specifically for children, or run facilities for children’s use will be required to implement 10 Child Safe Standards and the Universal Principle within their processes, policies and practices. This includes early childhood education providers, schools, hospitals and churches through to businesses and organisations employing staff or run by volunteers that provide services to or who work with children.
2. Reportable Conduct Scheme
In Queensland, the Reportable Conduct Scheme will require organisations to notify the QFCC when allegations or convictions relating to an employee or volunteer of the organisation constitute reportable conduct. It also requires entities to investigate concerns about the conduct of staff and volunteers in relation to their work with children, and report back to the QFCC. This applies to certain organisations with a high degree of responsibility for children, or where there is a heightened risk to children due to the type of institution, type of activities undertaken or the vulnerability of the children.
This Child Safe Organisations system will be introduced in a phased approach from 1 October 2025, meaning different sectors will be required to meet their legal obligations at different times.
QFCC is in the early stages of implementation, which involves building a team, establishing governance, and preparing resources to successfully engage with and equip the sectors to be child safe.
Download the implementation fact sheet
What is a Child Safe Organisation?
Organisations that take active steps to prevent harm and meaningfully centre children’s safety, wellbeing, and best interests in their policies and practices will be compliant with their obligations and considered child safe. Every organisation in Queensland will be at a different stage of its journey. Some sectors will have Child Safe Standards already underway, and some will have work to do. Implementation will require a unique approach for each sector.
A child safe organisation is a place that consciously and systematically:
- creates an environment where children’s safety and wellbeing, including cultural safety, is the centre of thought, values and actions.
- upholds children’s rights and human rights.
- places emphasis on genuine engagement with and valuing of children.
- reduces the likelihood of harm occurring.
- increases the likelihood of harm being identified.
- recognises, and responds to, any concerns, disclosures, allegations or suspicions of harm.
- has values and practices embedded into the culture of the organisation and staff at all levels and volunteers embody children’s safety in everything they do.
- engages in a dynamic process of continuous improvement to analyse performance, identify opportunities, learn and make changes to ensure the needs, wellbeing and cultural safety of children is maintained.
Background
The Child Safe Organisations system was recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Royal Commission) in 2017 and is underpinned by a child rights, strengths-based approach.
The Royal Commission emphasised that members of the public, children, young people, parents, carers, families and communities should be confident that organisations working with children provide safe environments where children’s rights, needs and interests are met. It identified specific elements that institutions should adopt to be child safe, and its Final Report proposed 10 Child Safe Standards to provide guidance to organisations about how to achieve effective safeguarding.
The Royal Commission envisaged the oversight of Child Safe Standards to occur in a way that does not impose an unnecessary regulatory burden, and that works collaboratively with existing sector regulators to capitalise on existing regulatory regimes.
