AV's Statement of Commitment to Child Safety

AV is committed to supporting diversity, inclusion and equality for all. 

We want all children to be safe, happy and empowered. We support and respect all children including the rights of all children to feel valued and to be safe. We acknowledge and respect all children and young people who face greater barriers to health and wellbeing.

We are committed to promoting and protecting the safety, wellbeing and empowerment of ALL children including the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, the cultural safety of children from a culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to providing a safe environment for children with disability.

• AV has zero tolerance to any and all harm and/or abuse of children and young people.
  To achieve the best outcomes for children and young people who engage with us and our programs, we expect our staff, volunteers, contractors, Board, Members and our partners or service providers to work in line with the Victorian Child Safe Standards including the 11 National Child Safety Standards effective 1 July 2022 and meet AV’s obligations. 
  
  

• We have legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety, which we follow rigorously. All allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with our robust policies and procedures. 
  
  

• Our organisation is committed to preventing child abuse and identifying risks early, and removing and reducing these risks. 
  
  

• Our organisation has robust human resources and recruitment practices for all staff and volunteers. AV has systems and measures in place to try and ensure the respect, wellbeing and safety of children.
  
  

• Our organisation is committed to regularly training and educating our staff and volunteers on child abuse risks. 
  
  

• We have specific policies, procedures and training in place that support our leadership team, staff and volunteers to achieve these commitments. 

All adults are required to manage & report on child safety, discrimination and racism under Australian law.

You can report any child safety concerns or disrespectful behaviour to an AV staff member or volunteer. 

We support and respect all children, as well as support and respect our staff and volunteers.

AV requires all staff, volunteers and expects our members to uphold these Child Safety & Respect commitments.

We welcome your thoughts, suggestions, feedback and general input on AV's Commitment to Child Safety and our Child Safe policy.
We especially invite children and young people to contribute to the ongoing development of AV's Commitment to Child Safety.

To share your feedback or suggestions, please contact our AV admin team by email or by phone: 0480 385 710