build the evidence base for using best practices to prevent child sexual abuse and harmful sexual behaviours in children guide the development and refinement of interventions, including the piloting and testing of initiatives before they are implemented. 6.4 All institutions should uphold the rights of the child. Consistent with Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, all institutions should act with the best interests of the child as a primary consideration. In order to achieve this, institutions should implement the Child Safe Standards identified by the Royal Commission. Accept In August 2017, the Australian Government agreed to the development of a Commonwealth framework to protect children and people in Commonwealth care (Commonwealth Child Safe Framework). All Australian Government agencies working with children will ensure that the Child Safe Standards, via the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (National Principles) (referred to in Recommendation 6.7) will be adopted within 12 months of Council of Australian Government or First Ministers’ endorsement. Further, the National Office for Child Safety, once established within the Department of Social Services from 1 July 2018, will work with state and territory governments and other organisations working with children, to promote and educate organisations working with children about the National Principles and their implementation. 6.5 The Child Safe Standards are: Child safety is embedded in institutional leadership, governance and culture Children participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously Families and communities are informed and involved Accept The Safe Standards have been incorporated into the National Principles. Following Community Services Ministers’ agreement to the final draft, Council of Australian Governments or First Ministers’ endorsement of the National Principles will be sought.
evaluate, publicly report on, and drive the continuous improvement of the implementation of the Child Safe Standards and their outcomes coordinate the direct input of children and young people into the evaluation and continuous improvement of the Child Safe Standards coordinate national capacity building and support initiatives and opportunities for collaboration between jurisdictions and institutions develop and promote national strategies to raise awareness and drive cultural change in institutions and the community to support child safety. Ministers will ascertain roles and responsibilities across the Australian, state and territory governments. 6.15 The Australian Government should develop a new National Framework for Safety in collaboration with state and territory governments. The Framework should: commit governments to improving the safety of all children by implementing long-term child safety initiatives, with appropriate resources, and holding them to account be endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments and overseen by a joint ministerial body commence after the expiration of the current National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children, no later than 2020 broader child safety issues, as well as specific initiatives to better prevent and respond to institutional child sexual abuse including initiatives recommended by the Royal Commission include links to other related policy frameworks. Accept The development of a National Framework for Child Safety is being considered as part of the post-2020 planning following the finalisation of the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020. Further planning will take place through the establishment of the National Office for Child Safety within the Department of Social Services from 1 July 2018. The form of any National Framework will be informed by consultations with state and territory governments and broader children and family sectors.
The National Office for Child Safety, once established within the Department of Social Services from 1 July 2018, will work with state and territory governments and other organisations working with children to promote and educate organisations working with children about the National Principles and their implementation. In the 2018-19 Budget $1.2 million will go to the Office of the eSafety Commissioner to engage with universities to student teachers so they can educate children about online safety and security, and to certify educators who can work in schools to provide online safety education to students. 6.22 In partnership with the proposed National Office of Child Safety (see Recommendations 6.16 and 6.17), the Office of the eSafety Commissioner should oversee the development of an online safety framework and resources to support all schools in creating child safe online environments. This work should build on existing school-based esafety frameworks and guidelines, drawing on Australian and international models. The school-based online safety framework and resources should be designed to: support schools in developing, implementing and reviewing their online codes of conduct, policies and procedures to help create an online culture that is safe for children guide schools in their response to specific online incidents, in coordination with other agencies. This should include Accept in principle The National Safe Schools Framework developed in 2003 and revised and nationally endorsed by all Ministers of Education in 2011, is a free resource for schools available on the Student Wellbeing Hub. The Framework provides a vision and a set of guiding principles to assist Australian school communities to develop positive and practical student safety and wellbeing policies and practices. The Government is currently reviewing the Framework in collaboration with the state and territory and nongovernment education authorities to ensure alignment with contemporary issues facing school communities, including online safety. Once finalised, the revised Framework will be submitted to the Education Council for endorsement and disseminated to Australian schools. The revised Framework will align the National
7.8 Consistent with Child Safe Standard 1: Child safety is embedded in institutional leadership, governance and culture, institutions should have a clear code of conduct that: outlines behaviours towards children that the institution considers unacceptable, including concerning conduct, misconduct or criminal conduct includes a specific requirement to report any concerns, breaches or suspected breaches of the code to a person responsible for handling complaints in the institution or to an external authority when required by law and/or the institution’s complaint handling policy outlines the protections available to individuals who make complaints or reports in good to any institution engaging in child-related work (see Recommendation 7.6 on reporter protections). Accept The National Principles broadly reflect this recommendation. The Australian Government will develop a resource to assist organisations to embed child safety in organisational leadership, governance and code of conduct in the second half of 2018. All Australian Government agencies are required to the National Principles within 12 months of endorsement. 7.9 State and territory governments should establish nationally consistent legislative schemes (reportable conduct schemes), based on the approach adopted in New South Wales, which oblige heads of institutions to notify an oversight body of any reportable allegation, conduct or conviction involving any of the institution’s employees. Noted This recommendation is a matter for state and territory governments. 7.10 Reportable conduct schemes should provide for: an independent oversight body obligatory reporting by of institutions a definition of reportable conduct that covers any sexual offence, or sexual misconduct, committed against, with, or in the presence of, a a definition of reportable conduct that includes the historical conduct of a current employee Noted This recommendation is a matter for state and territory governments. The Australian Government is assessing whether relevant state and territory law applies effectively to the Commonwealth.
8.14 State and territory governments should ensure that policies for the exchange of a student’s information when they move to another school: provide that the principal (or authorised information sharer) at the student’s previous school is required to share information with the new school in the circumstances described in Recommendation 8.13 and apply to schools in government and non-government systems. Noted This recommendation is a matter for and territory governments. See recommendation 8.16. 8.15 State and territory governments should ensure that policies about the exchange of a student’s information (as in Recommendations 8.13 and 8.14) provide the following safeguards, in addition to any safeguards attached to our recommended information exchange scheme: information provided to the new school should be proportionate to its need for that information to assist it in meeting the student’s safety and wellbeing needs, and those of other students at the school information should be exchanged between principals, or other authorised information sharers, and disseminated to other staff members on a need-to-know basis. Noted This recommendation is a matter for state and territory governments. See recommendation 8.16. 8.16 The Council of Australian Governments’ Education Council should review the Interstate Student Data Transfer Note and Protocol in the context of the implementation of our recommended information exchange scheme (Recommendations 8.6 to 8.8). Noted The Australian Government supports the harmonisation of legislative and administrative arrangements in states and territories to support data access and sharing. The Data Strategy Group, which reports to the Australian Education Senior Officials Committee under the Education Council and includes representatives from all states and territories and the non-government sector, is
Education Act cannot be used to subsidise the cost of providing boarding to students. The Australian Government also provides assistance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarding students (along with grants and assistance for hostels and other boarding facilities). Education authorities are best placed to determine how best to use funds in relation to their schools, including funding from the Australian Government, state and territory governments, and private sources. 13.5 Boarding hostels for children and young people should implement the Child Safe Standards identified by the Royal Commission. State and territory independent oversight authorities should monitor and enforce the Child Safe Standards in these institutions. Noted This recommendation is a matter for state and territory governments. 13.6 Consistent with the Safe Standards, complaint handling policies for schools (see Recommendation 7.7) should include effective policies and procedures for managing complaints about children with harmful sexual behaviours. Noted This recommendation is a matter for state and territory governments. 13.7 State and territory governments should provide nationally consistent and easily accessible guidance to teachers and principals on preventing and responding to child sexual abuse in all government and non-government schools. This recommendation is a matter for state and territory governments. 13.8 The Council of Australian Governments should consider strengthening teacher registration requirements to better protect children from sexual in schools. In particular, Council of Australian Governments Accept in principle The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership is conducting a National Review of Teacher Registration.
16.27 The Jehovah’s Witness organisation should abandon its application of the two-witness rule in cases involving complaints of child sexual abuse. Noted These recommendations are a matter for the Jehovah’s Witness organisation in Australia. The Australian Government expects all institutions to act consistently and effectively to protect children from sexual abuse. The Australian Government encourages all institutions to act consistently with the National Principles for Child Safe Institutions. 16.28 The Jehovah’s Witness organisation should revise its policies so that women are involved in processes related to investigating and determining allegations of child sexual abuse. 16.29 The Jehovah’s Witness organisation should no longer require its members to shun those who disassociate from the organisation in cases where the reason for disassociation is related to a person being a victim of child sexual abuse. Noted 16.30 All Jewish institutions in Australia should ensure that their complaint handling policies explicitly state that the halachic concepts of mesirah, moser and loshon horo do not apply to the communication and reporting of allegations of child sexual abuse to police and other civil authorities. Noted This recommendation is a matter for Jewish institutions in Australia. The Australian Government expects all institutions to act consistently and effectively to protect children from sexual abuse. The Australian Government encourages all institutions to act consistently with the National Principles for Child Safe Institutions. 16.31 All institutions that provide activities or services of any kind, under the auspices of a particular religious denomination or faith, through which adults have contact with children, should implement the 10 Child Safe Standards identified by the Royal Commission. Noted
16.42 Consistent with Child Safe Standard 5, each religious institution should require that candidates for religious ministry undergo external psychological testing, including psychosexual assessment, for the purposes of determining their suitability to be a person in religious ministry and to undertake work involving children. Noted 16.43 Each religious institution should ensure that candidates for religious ministry undertake minimum training on child safety and related matters, including training that: equips candidates with an understanding of the Royal Commission’s 10 Child Safe Standards educates candidates on: professional responsibility and boundaries, ethics in ministry and safety policies regarding appropriate responses to allegations or complaints of child sexual abuse, and how to implement these policies how to work with children, including childhood development identifying and understanding the nature, indicators and impacts of sexual abuse. Noted 16.44 Consistent with Child Safe Standard 5, each religious institution should ensure that all people in religious or pastoral ministry, including religious leaders, are subject to effective management and oversight and undertake annual performance appraisals. Noted 16.45 Consistent with Child Safe Standard 5, each religious institution should ensure that all people in religious or pastoral ministry, including religious leaders, have professional supervision with a trained Noted
The Australian Government expects all institutions to act consistently and effectively to protect children from sexual abuse. The Australian Government encourages all institutions to act consistently with the National Principles for Child Safe Institutions. of an offence relating to child sexual abuse, the religious institution should: assess the level of risk posed to children by that perpetrator’s ongoing involvement in the religious community take appropriate steps to manage that risk. 16.58 Each religious organisation should consider establishing a national register which records limited but sufficient information to assist affiliated institutions identify and respond to any risks to children that may be posed by people in religious or pastoral ministry. Volume 17, Beyond the Commission recommendations 17.1 The Australian Government and state and territory governments should each issue a formal response to this Final Report within six months of it being tabled, indicating whether our recommendations are accepted, accepted in principle, rejected or subject to further consideration. Accept The Australian Government agrees to issue formal responses to the Final Report in June 2018. 17.2 The Australian Government and state and territory governments should, beginning 12 months after this Final Report is tabled, report on their implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations made in this Final Report and its earlier Working With Children Checks, Accept The Australian Government agrees to report on progress in implementing the Royal Commission’s recommendations from the Final Report, the Working with Children Checks, Redress and Civil Litigation and Criminal Justice reports.
17.5 The Australian Government should host and maintain the Royal Commission website for the duration of the national redress scheme for victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. Accept The Australian Government will not maintain the Royal Commission website for the duration of the National Redress Scheme. The website will continue to be supported until the end of 2018, and then it will be archived and the information will continue to be accessible. The Australian Government has established a trauma informed, survivor focussed website for the National Redress Scheme to provide information, advice and support to survivors seeking redress. The Australian Government will establish an online resource to publish the Response and report on implementation. 17.6 A national memorial should be commissioned by the Australian Government for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in institutional contexts. Victims and survivors should be consulted on the memorial design and it should be located in Canberra. Accept in principle Consultations will be undertaken to seek stakeholders’ views on this recommendation during consultations on the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse.