Child Safety Procedure - Incident Reporting for Suspected Child Abuse - V1.0 Jan 2017

Sep 12, 2026

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FareShare’s Child Safety Procedure establishes how staff, volunteers and contractors respond to and report allegations or disclosures of suspected child abuse. It applies to all persons connected with or contacting FareShare’s environment, including child-connected work, and is read alongside the Child Safety Policy and Code of Conduct. The procedure defines key terms such as “child,” “child-connected work” and “Child Safety Officer,” and sets mandatory reporting responsibilities, including acting in a child’s best interests and escalating concerns to the Child Safety Officer.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryForms

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

Statement of Context and Purpose

Application

Reference Points / Background Papers

Definitions

Procedure for responding to and reporting allegations of suspected child abuse

Application of the procedure

Your obligations to report incidents involving alleged or suspected child abuse

What do to when a child discloses or alleges an incident of child abuse

CHILD SAFETY PROCEDURE | Last Review: December 2016 | Constructed / Reviewed by: Clayton Utz | | --- | --- | | Next Review: July 2017 | Approval Required: Board Motion | | | Board Sign Off Date: 18 January 2017 | | 1. | Statement of Context and Purpose
This procedure has been developed to ensure that FareShare appropriately responds to and reports allegations of suspected child abuse. | | --- | --- | | 2. | Application
This Procedure applies to all employees, volunteers and contractors (collectively referred to as staff throughout this Procedure), visitors and other people who are associated with or come in contact with FareShare. | | 3. | Reference Points / Background Papers
􀁸 Crimes Act 1958 (Vic);
􀁸 Crimes Amendment (Protection of Children) Act 2014 (Vic);
􀁸 Crimes Amendment (Grooming) Act 2014 (Vic);
􀁸 DHS Child Safe Standards Toolkit: Resource 6: What to do when an allegation of child abuse is made;
􀁸 DHS Child Safe Standards Toolkit: Resource 7: Sample Incident Report Template;
􀁸 Child Safety Policy; and
􀁸 Code of Conduct. | 4. Definitions Child means a person who is under the age of 18 years who attends FareShare in FareShare's environment. Child abuse is child abuse as defined in the Child Safety Policy. Child-connected work means work authorised by FareShare and performed by an adult in FareShare's environment while children are present or reasonably expected to be present. Child safety encompasses matters related to protecting all children from child abuse, managing the risk of child abuse, providing support to a child at risk of child abuse, and responding to incidents or allegations of child abuse. Child Safety Officer/s is the first point of contact to provide advice and support to children, parents and staff regarding the safety and well-being of children at FareShare, as set out in Part 5.6 of this procedure. FareShare's environment means any physical place made available or authorized by FareShare for the use of child-connected work, including most relevantly, the FareShare kitchen at 1-7 South Audley Street, Abbotsford, Victoria. Staff means an individual working in FareShare's environment who is directly engaged or employed by FareShare and/or a volunteer or a contracted service provider (whether or not a body corporate or any other person is an intermediary) . 5. Procedure for responding to and reporting allegations of suspected child abuse FareShare takes all allegations or disclosures of suspected child abuse seriously and will respond to and report (including to authorities and the police) allegations or disclosures of child abuse in accordance with this procedure and any other legal obligations. 5.1 Application of the procedure This procedure: 􀁸 covers all forms of child abuse; and 􀁸 applies to allegations or disclosures of child abuse made by or in relation to a child, staff, visitors, or other persons while connected to FareShare's environment; 􀁸 is to be read in conjunction with: 􀂾 the Child Safety Policy and Code of Conduct (which sets out types of conduct that should be reported); 􀁸 does not: 􀂾 prohibit or discourage staff from reporting an allegation of child abuse toa person external to FareShare; 􀂾 state or imply that it is the victim's responsibility to inform the police or authorities of the allegation; 􀂾 require staff to make a judgment about the truth of the allegation of child abuse; 􀂾 prohibit staff from making records in relation to an allegation or disclosure of child abuse. 5.2 Your obligations to report incidents involving alleged or suspected child abuse Persons involved in child-connected work must always act in the best interests of those children to protect and preserve their safety, health and wellbeing. The following reporting obligations are mandatory for all staff: 􀁸 All staff must report any instances of child abuse (including instances of suspected or alleged child abuse) to the Child Safety Offi

FAQs

Who does the Child Safety Procedure apply to at FareShare?

The procedure applies to all employees, volunteers and contractors, as well as visitors and other people associated with or coming in contact with FareShare.

What are staff required to do when they suspect or receive allegations of child abuse?

Staff must report any instances of child abuse (including suspected or alleged) to the Child Safety Officer as soon as practicable. If there is a reasonable belief an incident occurred, staff must report it and should err on the side of caution if in doubt.

What should be done when a child discloses or alleges child abuse?

Discreetly separate the child and listen carefully, let the child use their own words, reassure them it is not their fault, explain information may need to be shared, avoid promises not to report, and do not leave the child distressed while staying with them if they seem at ease.

Sep 12, 2026

Upload by Fez