Introduction
Child protection legislation applies to any child or young person under the age of 18 years, at school, TAFE or a University student. They have a right to feel safe and be safe. Rotarians have an obligation to comply with the legislation which protects these people.
Any report or complaint from a child or young person is to be reported immediately to the Club President who has a responsibility to refer it to the District Child Protection and Sexual Harassment Officer and the District Governor.
For further information, contact the District Child Protection and Sexual Harassment Officers on districtchildprotection@rotarydistrict9685.org.au.
Clubs need a Child Protection Policy & Procedure Manual
All Rotarians who work with children are required to have a Working With Children (WWC) number.
Each Rotary Club needs a written Child Protection Policy, which includes a policy on what to do if there was an incident during any Child Related Activity.
The Office of the Children’s Guardian, who are responsible for oversighting this important practice will now conduct a random audit of those organisations which have child related activities, including Rotary Clubs and Rotary Districts that run District events such as Youth Exchange, RYLA, RYPEN, MUNA and any similar event where the Club/District has control over a child related activity.
The Office of the Children’s Guardian has increased the fine for non-compliance from $10,000 to $22,000. Many clubs do not currently have a specific policy in place that could be considered adequate under the New South Wales Legislation. State Legislation must be followed before any Rotary procedures come into play.
A draft Child Protection Policy & Procedure Manual has been developed by the Rotary Club of the Lower Blue Mountains with a team who have analysed the legislation and written a policy which covers all aspects of the State legislation. This policy is available on the District Website, in Word format, so that clubs can download the document, insert their club name in the required place and place the document before the Board of Directors of the club for acceptance. Click here to download the draft policy document. This document will save you a lot of heartache if a random audit is undertaken by the Office of Children’s Guardian of your club procedures.
There is also a District version of this policy to be put into practice by the Committee of management for Rotary District 9685.