Child Safety Statement

    The Anglican Parish of Jika Jika

   Statement of Commitment to Child Safety

  As a Christian community, meeting together to worship God, we affirm our

  commitment to ensuring a culture of child safety in which  each child who interacts

  with our community is free from abuse. We consider child safety to include physical,

  mental, and emotional well-being.  

  God’s word is very clear in telling us that all people are created equal and every

  single person is a child of God who can receive the full inheritance of heaven. The

  Bible also tells us about cultural safety, how to love and serve everyone no matter

  what their age, culture, ethnicity, sexuality, or gender. As part of this worldview, we

  specifically seek to promote the cultural safety of children of Aboriginal and Torres

  Strait Islanders and all those children who come to us from a culturally or

  linguistically diverse background. We also seek to ensure the safety of any child with

  a disability.

  The church should be a place where children can come to know and experience the

  love of God through those who care for and work with them. In order to ensure that

  we meet the highest standards of child safety for each child who comes into our

  community, we have the following in place:

•          Our organisational culture is one of child safety where, through

                effective leadership and clear lines of accountability, we ensure that

                all those in positions of power or influence with children are properly

                screened, supervised and trained.

•         Our code of conduct is the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne “Duty of

                Care” handbook. The handbook is available at our Parish Office and

                can also be found online at:

                        http://www.melbourneanglican.org.au/mission/youthchildrenfamily/c

                hildren family/Pages/Duty-of-Care.aspx

•         All those working with children in the parish are required to have a

                current Working With Children Check and in some instances Police

                Checks. We will also conduct reference checks on those who move

                into our parish and ask to be part of leadership teams.

•         We encourage anyone who experiences abuse, misconduct or

                otherwise feels unsafe to report it or make a complaint. There are

                various avenues for this to be done. We take all complaints very

                seriously and aim is to solve complaints as quickly as possible.

•         The process of responding to and reporting suspected child abuse is

                set out by the diocese. You can talk to the ministry team, including

                the vicar, and they will discuss with you what further action should be

                taken. You can also complain to the diocese directly.

•         You also have the option of making a complaint to the police if you

                feel that a child’s safety has been compromised by the actions or

                words of someone operating within our programs.

•         A booklet entitled “Information for people thinking about making a

                complaint” published by the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne is

                available at our Parish Centre. The information is also available online

                from www.melbourne.anglican.com.au

 How to make a complaint

  The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne takes all complaints of misconduct very

  seriously. This information is intended to help if you wish to make a complaint, have

  been or are being abused or harassed by clergy or Church officers, including Regional

  Bishops, in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.

  The Director of Professional Standards responds to all complaints of misconduct

  including sexual, physical, spiritual or emotional abuse by clergy or Church officers.

  The Director is as independent as possible from the Diocese but is paid by the

  Diocese.

  The first step in making a complaint is to call the recorded information line at any

  time on 1800 135 246. All information provided to this service is strictly confidential.

  The person taking a message on this number will ask you to give a name and your

  phone number or address so that the Director can contact you as soon as possible.

  Alternatively, you can write to the Director:

  Director of Professional Standards

  Anglican Diocese of Melbourne

  PO Box 329

  Canterbury VIC 3126

  Mark your envelope “Confidential”

  The aim is to solve complaints as quickly as possible. There are different ways of

  dealing with complaints-informally, formally or by referring the matter to another

  Church professional standards body or to a child protection authority or to the

  police.

  If the formal process as outlined in the Professional Standards Act is used, the

  Director advises the Professional Standards Committee who investigates the matter.

  A Protocol, Power & Trust in the Church, guides the process.