The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse looked at many examples of unsafe practices in organisations that led to children being sexually abused and made recommendations on what organisations should do now to keep children and young people safe from harm.
Organisations that engage with children and young people have a responsibility to respect them and protect them from harm, including from abuse and neglect by people within the organisation and in the course of its activities.
Identifying child safe organisations
Parents, carers and family members have a vital part to play in keeping children and young people safe when they are participating in services and programs delivered by organisations in the community.
Children and young people are safer when their parents, carers and others take an active interest in an organisation’s child safe practices. Organisations that demonstrate an active commitment to the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (National Principles) talk openly about creating child safe environments and have practical measures in place to achieve, review and improve on this.
The National Principles highlight the need for children and young people, parents, carers and families to understand the rights of children and be involved in decision-making. They also highlight the role of an organisation to recognise and promote equity and demonstrate respect for children and young people’s diverse circumstances – for example, disability, sex, gender, social, economic or cultural background.
Resources
There are many resources available to help you identify whether an organisation is child safe. There is also information and resources available for children and young people to refer to.
- Guide for parents and carers – Australian Human Rights Commission – how to choose safe and suitable organisations for your child.
- Parent checklist – Commissioner for Children and Young People – how to decide whether an organisation is safe and suitable for your child.
- Understanding the National Principles (plain English) – Australian Human Rights Commission – understanding and talking about the National Principles with children and organisations.
- Cultural safety in organisations report – National Office for Child Safety – understanding cultural safety in child safe organisations.
- Keeping our Kids Safe video – SNAICC – understanding cultural safety in child safe organisations.
- Having conversations – National Office for Child Safety – a toolkit to help adults have preventative conversations about child sexual abuse with children and young people, other adults and organisations.
- Translated National Principles resources – National Office for Child Safety – information about the National Principles is available in a range of languages.
- Parent resources – WA Child Safety Services – support for parents to teach children skills and strategies to identify and respond to a range of unsafe situations.
Navigating online environments
Similar to physical spaces, the online environment requires considerations to inform how children and young people can safely navigate their experiences. Increasing our understanding of online environments can also assist to inform the conversations around safety and better protect children.
Online platforms provide children and young people with opportunities to learn in new interactive ways, engage with others, and seek help and information. Participation in online activities includes a responsibility to keep children and young people safe, ensuring that those in our care are protected from harm.
The eSafety Commissioner has developed resources to support parents and caregivers in navigating online environments. Please visit the esafety website for more information including available webinars, information on parental controls and guidance for those hard-to-have conversations.
In addition, the eSafety Commissioner has recently released the report, Digital use and risk: Online platform engagement among children aged 10 to 15.
This report is part of a series presenting findings from eSafety’s Keeping Kids Safe Online survey, conducted between December 2024 – February 2025. The report details findings on the use of online platforms and experiences of harm among 10–15-year-olds.
In 2024, the Commonwealth Government introduced the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, establishing a minimum age of 16 for access to age-restricted social media platforms, aiming to protect young Australians from potential online harms by:
- requiring reasonable steps to prevent children who have not reached a minimum age from having accounts from December 2025;
- introducing privacy protections for information collected by social media platforms for the purposes of the minimum age requirement; and
- providing powers to the eSafety Commissioner and Information Commissioner to seek information relevant to monitoring compliance, and issue and publish notices regarding non‐compliance.
More information on the Act can be found via the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 – Fact sheet.
How to make a complaint
You can lodge a complaint against organisations that engage children and young people.
If you are unhappy or worried about something happening in an organisation, you have the right to tell someone and be listened to.
When organisations have clear information and easy steps you can take to raise concerns and make complaints, it is a sign that they take the safety of children and young people seriously. You should be able to find this information on an organisation’s website, in places where they run activities and from staff and volunteers.
Concerned about a child or young person
See where to go for help if you’re worried a child or young person is unsafe.
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