In South Australia the protection of children is covered by the
Children's Protection Act 1993. The objectives of the Act are to ensure that:
- all children are safe from harm
- all children are cared for in a way that allows them to reach their full potential
- caring attitudes and responses towards children are promoted across all sections of the community
- the family is recognised as the primary means of providing nurture, care and protection of children.
The requirements for organisations
Organisations that provide health, welfare, education, sporting or recreational, religious or spiritual, childcare, or residential services to children are required to have:
Child abuse and neglect
A wide range of people are required by law to notify Families SA of situations where child abuse and neglect are suspected. Under the
Children’s Protection Act these people are referred to as mandated notifiers. More information about mandated notifiers can be found in Part 4 of the
Children’s Protection Act 1993.
Detailed information about child safe environments, training, information sheets and guidelines is provided on the DFC website.
Reporting suspected child abuse and neglect
To report suspected abuse, contact:
Resources
Resources to help organisations comply with their obligations under the Children’s Protection Act:
- a child safe, child protection policy template - the Office for Volunteers in partnership with DFC
- free police checks for volunteers fact sheet (PDF 3.2MB) developed by the Office for Volunteers in consultation with the South Australian Police
- the Child Safe Environments website
- mandated notification training through the DFC College for Learning and Development
- a sample presentation to inform employees and volunteers about their obligations under the Act
- the Keeping Children Safe In Recreation and Sport booklet and other relevant resources produced by the Office for Recreation and Sport, that are useful to a range of organisations, not just sporting clubs
- a free one-day training course for child-safe officers in volunteer sporting organisations.
More information
On this site
Volunteering with the aged
Volunteering is for everyone
Finding volunteers
Induction and training
Police checks
Legal considerations for the volunteer sector
Downloads
Free police checks for volunteers (PDF3.2MB)