Resources and training

Australian Human Rights Commission 

Child Safe Organisations – information, tools and resources to support implementation of the National Principles

National Office for Child Safety

Works with governments and organisations to deliver national policies and strategies to enhance children’s safety and reduce future harm to children. They have produced a range of resources to support organisations to implement the National Principles. Many of the resources are available in a range of languages.

• Introductory Self-Assessment tool for organisations
  • This tool is designed to help organisations learn about the National Principles and identify priority areas for improvement. The tool gives examples of what each principle might look like when implemented in practice, and prompts organisations to commit to taking concrete actions to improve their child safe practices.
• Complaint Handling Guide
  • Resource to support organisations to build their capacity in handling complaints involving children and creating child safe cultures. 
• National Principles for Child Safe Organisations Consultation Report – Children and Young People with Disability 
  • Outlines key findings and recommendations to inform the development of resources that will support organisations to better keep children and young people with disability safe. 
• Child Safe Organisations: Guide for parents and carers
  • Guide will help parents and carers think about how each organisation operates and its safety and wellbeing arrangements for children.

Secretariat National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care SNAICC

Keeping Our Kids Safe – Cultural Safety and the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations guide to support organisations working with Aboriginal children and Torres Strait Islander children

Children’s Rights Queensland

Find a range of resources for educators, parents, carers and children to learn more about children’s rights.

eSafety Commissioner

Find a range of resources for educators, parents, children and young people, diverse communities, community organisations and industry to help improve children’s safety online.

Online training and webinars delivered by online safety experts covering a range of topics and for different organisations.

Queensland Council of Social Services (QCOSS)

QCOSS have established the Quality Collaboration Network (QCN) for organisations involved in implementing the Human Services Quality Framework within their organisation. It provides an opportunity to share experiences, information and resources on audit and quality matters, as well as identifying common issues across the sector. They hold monthly meetings with guest speakers and discussion topics. The QCN is open to quality, policy or compliance risk professionals working in community non-government organisations in Queensland. You can subscribe to the QCOSS mailing list to receive information on upcoming events.

Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY)

Provides a publications library of wellbeing resources focused on children, young people and families. Visit the Australian Children and Young People’s Knowledge Acceleration Hub.

Alberta Wellness Initiative

A library of resources from leading experts on the science of early brain development.

Raising Children Network

Provides videos, articles and resources focused on children and young people from birth to adulthood with information on development, health and wellbeing, safety and much more.

Healing Foundation

A national Aboriginal and Torres Strait organization that focuses on addressing trauma caused by the widespread and deliberate disruption of peoples, cultures and languages since colonisation. Their website has resources and information relating to intergenerational trauma and healing.

Child Family Community Australia

• Responding to disclosures of abuse and neglect 
  • This CFCA webinar provides an overview of recent research on how to support and respond to children's disclosures of abuse and neglect.
  • Practitioner resource provides a guide to responding to children and young people's disclosures of abuse. 
• Protection through participation: Involving children in child safe organisations
  • Practitioner resource provides practical guidance for involving children in child-safe organisations, based on what children and young people have said themselves. 
• Understanding safeguarding practices for children with disability when engaging with organisations
  • Practitioner resource explores how an understanding of abuse and neglect relating to children with disability can assist in establishing child-safe organisations.

Other Australian jurisdictions

Other Australian jurisdictions have implemented child safe standards and reportable conduct schemes and have produced resources to support organisations. 

Links have been provided below but please be aware that there are some differences in how cultural safety is addressed, how reportable conduct schemes operate and the obligations placed on organisations regarding how they implement the standards.

• Western Australia
• Commissioner for Children and Young People (WA)
• Commission for Children and Young People (VIC)
• Office of the Children’s Guardian (NSW)
• Commissioner for Children and Young People Tasmania

National Principles and becoming a child safe organisation

• Australian Human Rights Commission
  • Learning Hub contains training resources to increase your understanding of the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and help you consider how organisations can approach implementation.
• National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN)
  • Offers professional development workshops to help organisations become child safe and implement the national principles. 
• Bravehearts
  • Child Protection Online training is designed to equip and support people working with children with the knowledge and tools to create and maintain child-safe environments. A range of courses are available with different costs per person.

Children’s Rights and Human Rights

• Queensland Council of Social Services (QCOSS)
  • Human Rights resources, information and training links for Queensland based organisations to build knowledge and understanding of the Human Rights Act 2019
• University of Tasmania Introduction to Children’s Rights and Safety
  • Free online short course designed to build awareness of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the role you play in ensuring children’s voices are heard and taken seriously.
• Diplomacy Training Program – Children’s Rights program
  • Designed to build awareness, knowledge and understanding of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. 
  • The program is a partnership between Youth Law Australia and Australian Lawyers for Human Rights 
• Save the Children Resource Centre
  • Find resources brought together as part of the How to Child Rights series. The resources describes how you can contribute towards advancing the implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child and other United Nations regional commitments to children. They describe practical processes which is adaptable to different contexts.

Children’s development and wellbeing

• ARACY
  • What is wellbeing? short video to help people understand what the term wellbeing means.
• Emerging Minds
  • Emerging Minds Learning portal provides free online courses and resources to help support people working with children and families.
  • Their course pathways program provides courses centred around particular themes that people can select from depending on the relevance for their work. These could be useful for organisations needing to build staff knowledge and understanding and elevate child safe practices.
  • Building blocks for children’s social and emotional wellbeing
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and emotional wellbeing course pathway
  • Engaging with Children course pathway
  • Cultural and linguistically diverse communities course pathway
  • Interpersonal trauma course pathway
  • Disability course pathway
  • Bullying course pathway