Landcare Tasmania is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities, by providing a safe and nurturing environment in person and online.

The importance of child safety and wellbeing is embedded in our organisational leadership, governance, and culture. We aim to create an environment where all children and young people are valued and feel safe.

Our commitment to child safety and wellbeing

• Landcare Tasmania Inc. is committed to child safety and wellbeing. 
• We want children to be safe, happy and empowered. 
• We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers.  
• We are committed to the safety, participation and empowerment of all children. 
• We have zero tolerance for child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated seriously and consistently with our policies and procedures. 
• We have legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety.
• Landcare Tasmania Inc. is committed to preventing child abuse, identifying risks early and removing and reducing these risks. 
• We are committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children, the cultural safety of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to providing a safe environment for children with a disability. 
• We have specific policies and procedures in place that support our board members, staff and volunteers to achieve these commitments.
• We provide opportunities for children and young people to provide feedback and input into the development of activities that affect them.

Becoming a Child Safe Organisation at Landcare Tasmania 

A Child Safe Organisation consciously and systematically:

• Creates an environment where children’s safety and wellbeing is at the centre of thought, values and actions.
• Places emphasis on genuine engagement with and valuing of children and young people.
• Creates conditions that reduce the likelihood of harm to children and young people.
• Creates conditions that increase the likelihood of identifying any harm.
• Responds to any concerns, disclosures, allegations or suspicions of harm.

Landcare Tasmania is working to strengthen our framework for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children involved in our work by implementing the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. These principles also align with the Tasmanian Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework, which organisations in Tasmania will be required to comply with from 1 July 2024.

Landcare Tasmania supports becoming a child safe organisation by:

• Requiring all staff and affiliates treat all children and young people with respect and act in accordance with Landcare Tasmania's Child Safety Code of Conduct.
• Ensuring that staff working with children and young people, or who encounter children and young people, adhere to the child safe protection behaviours.
• Providing training for all Landcare Tasmania staff, board and volunteers who work with children or young people.
• Tailoring recruitment practices to ensure only the most suitable and appropriate people are hired by Landcare Tasmania to work with children and young people.
• Undertaking a risk-based approach for all programs and activities involving work, or potential work, with children and young people to mitigate and minimise any harm to children. 
• Requiring third parties, and their staff/sub-contractors, contracted to work with children and young people to comply with this policy.
• Monitoring compliance with the Tasmanian Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework and relevant legislation to promote the establishment and maintenance of a child safe environment.
• Having a rigorous response to safeguarding concerns, complaints or disclosures. All safeguarding concerns must be reported according to state and territory legislation and notified to the Child Safe Officer [email protected]

Landcare Tasmania's Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy

This policy reflects our commitment to becoming a Child Safe Organisation by implementing the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations

Purpose

This Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy outlines Landcare Tasmania’s commitment to protecting children from all forms of harm and ensuring their wellbeing is prioritised in all aspects of our operations. Landcare Tasmania is committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment for all children and young people engaged with Landcare Tasmania. This Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy is prepared to ensure children and young people participating in all Landcare Tasmania programs, activities and events are safe and to provide guidance to staff and volunteers about the standards and procedures that they must follow. 

The policy conforms to the Tasmanian Child Safe Standards requirements issued by the Department of Justice and the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act 2023. It is based on a template prepared by the Child Safe Organisations, Australian Human Rights Commission. Among the organisations explicitly required to adhere to the Child Safe Standards are charities and not-for-profit organisations. Landcare Tasmania Inc. falls into this category. 

Scope and application

• This child safety and wellbeing policy and related Code of Conduct applies to all people who conduct work for Landcare Tasmania Inc. in a paid or unpaid capacity. This includes all board members, sub-committees of the board, staff and volunteers, contractors and consultants.
• While Landcare Tasmania members and volunteers of member groups are not specifically covered by this policy, they may choose to adopt it or use it to guide their own child safety framework. Members are strongly encouraged to adopt their own child safety framework appropriate to the activities of their group and in line with their own legal obligations.
• This child safety and wellbeing policy applies to all activities in the organisation which involve, result in or relate to contact with children. 

Responsibilities and actions we take

This policy ensures that all Child-Related Personnel who may interact with children and young people at Landcare Tasmania read this Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy, sign and abide by the Code of Conduct and become familiar with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

Landcare Tasmania's responsibilities:

• We require all people conducting work for Landcare Tasmania to acknowledge and adhere to a Child Safe Code of Conduct, setting out specific actions and behaviours that should and should not be taken.
• We take all reasonable steps to employ skilled people to work with children. Landcare Tasmania understands that when recruiting board members, staff and volunteers, we have ethical and legislative obligations. 
• Registration to Work With Vulnerable People is required for all staff and volunteers. Their connection to Landcare Tasmania is recorded in the statewide database to ensure we are notified of any updates or changes to their RWVP status.
• We work to ensure all children, families, board members, staff and volunteers know what to do and who to tell if they observe abuse or are a victim and if they notice inappropriate behaviour.  
• We all have a responsibility to report an allegation of abuse if we have a reasonable belief that an incident took place. Factors contributing to reasonable belief may include: 
  • a child states they or someone they know has been abused 
  • behaviour consistent with that of an abuse victim is observed
  • someone else has raised a suspicion of abuse but is unwilling to report it
  • observing suspicious behaviour 

• When designing activities and projects for children we consider their needs in the design and, where possible, gain input from children and young people.
• For all Landcare Tasmania activities involving children or young people, we require those children and young people to be supervised by a guardian, teacher or parent at all times.
• We undertake risk assessments for child-related activities and apply appropriate controls to minimise the risk of harm to children.
• We make information about our child safety and wellbeing framework available publicly on our website, including information on how to report a concern.
• We review our child safety and wellbeing framework regularly.

Reportable conduct

The CEO and Child Safety Officer of Landcare Tasmania must be made aware of any allegations of physical and sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, significant emotional or psychological harm or significant neglect by an employee or volunteer towards a child. 

We are also legally required to notify the Strong Families Safe Kids Advice and Referral Line.

The definition of reportable conduct under the Reportable Conduct Scheme is broader than suspected criminal behaviour alone.

Reportable conduct includes:

• significant emotional or psychological harm
• significant neglect
• physical violence
• a sexual offence
• sexual misconduct
• grooming
• relevant offences such as failing to report child abuse.

View the flow chart here: Child Safety Reporting Process

To report a concern or for other information relating to Child Safety and Wellbeing, contact our Child Safe Officer on email [email protected] or call 03 6234 7177