Our commitment to child safety
What we provide
Yooralla is committed to child safety and creating an organisation where children are safe and happy. Across the organisation our employees and volunteers commit to upholding the child safe standards and respecting children at all times.
Children we support
At Yooralla we ensure that children with a disability are safe and can participate equally. We empower and support children and involve them when making decisions, especially about matters that directly affect them. We listen to and value the views of children, parents and carers and respect what they have to say. We promote diversity and acceptance at Yooralla. In particular, we:
- promote the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands children
- promote the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Our employees and volunteers
All of our employees and volunteers must abide by our Code of Conduct and for employees and volunteers who work with children, our Code of Conduct (Child Safety and Wellbeing). These Code of Conducts are read in conjunction with the NDIS Code of Conduct, which specifies the standards of conduct required when working with children.
Training and supervision
Training and education for all our employees and volunteers is important to ensure that everyone at Yooralla understands that child safety is everyone’s responsibility.
We train our employees and volunteers to identify, assess, and minimise risks of child abuse and to detect potential signs of child abuse.
Recruitment
We undertake reference checks, police checks and NDIS worker screening checks to ensure that we are recruiting the right people. All employees and volunteers who are engaged in child-related work are required to hold a Working with Children Check and to provide evidence of this check.
Reporting
We have a responsibility to report an allegation of abuse if we have a reasonable belief that an incident took place. Yooralla takes all allegations seriously and allegations will be investigated fairly and appropriately. All records are securely stored electronically on our incident management system. If an allegation of abuse or a safety concern is raised, we provide updates to children and families on progress and actions taken. Reportable incidents are referred to the appropriate authorities.
For further information please contact the Director Quality and Safeguards at Yooralla on 03 9666 4500