Child & Youth Risk Management Strategy 2013/2014 Induction This Risk Management Strategy has been developed in response to Queensland State Government legislation introduced to protect children and youth whilst in the care of Registered (Blue Carded) organisations. The requirements are enshrined in Government legislation and as such compliance is mandatory. Surf Lifesaving Queensland’s role has been to interpret the act, and to develop a consistent model for all 59 Queensland surf lifesaving clubs, to assist them to provide safe environments for children and youth in their care, to give clubs guidance should a breach occur, and to indemnify clubs against potential fines for non compliance. This presentation outlines an induction that can be used at club/ branch level to ensure that all position holders/ office bearers are aware of the strategy and the club’s commitment to child & youth safety. Insert club name and logo

Why have a documented risk management strategy? Commit to providing and promoting safe environments for children and youth Meet the legislative requirement - Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000 Legally responsible as a club committee member to: act in the interest of the members, so should operate independently and free from influence Act in good faith Exercise due care & diligence Ensure solvency Meet legislative requirements. Surf Lifesaving is not immune to predators SLSQ is committed to providing and promoting safe environments for children and youth. We believe that SLS must show a definite emphasis on this strategy by promoting and supporting its implementation at all levels because: Almost 45% of our total membership are under the age of 18; there were about 10, 500 junior activities members registered with SLSQ at the end of 2012/13 season; junior activities accounts for 32% of SLSQ’s total membership. Safe environments don’t just happen they require ongoing planning, commitment, and maintenance. Secondly, the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000 states that: as a regulated organisation we must have a risk management strategy in place. Thirdly, each committee member is bound by their legal responsibilities to ensure all of the above. Lastly, we are not immune to predators.

What are the Legislative Requirements? To comply with the legislative framework, SLSQ and Club child and youth risk management strategies must: • address surf lifesaving’s commitment to creating a safe and supportive service environment within our organisation; • strengthen surf lifesaving’s capability to provide such an environment; • assist surf lifesaving to manage any particular concerns with respect to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people who are involved with the organisation or business; and • promote the consistency of surf lifesaving’s approach to risk management, both within the organisation or business and with respect to its compliance with the requirements under the Commission’s Act. The Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000 and the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Regulation 2001 require regulated organisation’s and businesses to develop and implement a child and youth risk management strategy which aims to keep children and young people safe.

Where can the Legislative Requirements be found? There are eight minimum mandatory requirements as per the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000 that must be included in a Child and Youth Risk Management Strategy: Commitment A statement of commitment Codes of conduct Capability Recruitment, selection, training and management strategies The presenter is to outline the 8 mandatory requirements as follows from the Act, and where each can be located within the club: Commitment A statement of commitment to the principles of safe and supportive service environments, and Codes of conduct of which SLS has a variety for different roles including: Directors/ Administrators Youth Leaders Member….continue to list all that the club uses. These can be found in the….. Capability Recruitment, selection, training and management strategies for volunteers and staff that encourage best practice and enhance the safety and well-being of children and young people. These procedures and templates can be found in….

Mandatory Requirements cont… Concerns Policies and procedures for handling: disclosures and suspicions of harm breaches planning process for activities and special events. Consistency Compliance with the blue card system Strategies for communication and support Concerns Policies and procedures for handling disclosures and suspicions of harm Policies and procedures for the occasions where there might be a breach of the organisation’s child and youth risk management strategy, and A planning process for high risk activities and special events. These can be found in…. Consistency Policies and procedures for compliance with the blue card system (Part 6 of the Commission’s Act), and Strategies for communication and support for all stakeholders including children and young people.

Changes to the strategy… Procedures - Data entry of Member Protection information & Screening Report from (Blue Card Register) SurfGuard Training register template detailing training delivered Policy Updates: SLSA Member Protection Policy Updated document references: Summary for Clubs to Manage Child & Youth Protection; Flow chart for Reporting Youth Protection Complaint; and How to deal with receiving a youth protection complaint/ disclosure. ADD CLUB BRANCH Strategies that have been updated since last season. We will now discuss the updates that have been made to specific documents within the strategy. SLSQ have highlighted the updates within the Document Register. The club’s register has been updated to reflect the amendments and the old documents within the folder should be replaced with the new ones. This season the following items have been updated: Procedure - Data entry of Member Protection information & Screening Report from (Blue Card Register) SurfGuard. SLSQ has now completed the migration to Surf Guard therefore new procedures have been created for club’s processing/ reviewing information , and pulling reports from Surf Guard. The Training register template has been updated to include dot points of what induction information should be delivered & this powerpoint has been created to make the process more streamlined for clubs. All members attending this induction must sign the training register which will be forwarded to Branch by the 30 November 2013. SLSA Member Protection Policy has been updated (Nov 2012). The following documents have been renamed for ease of reference: Summary for Clubs to Manage Child & Youth Protection; Flow chart for Reporting Youth Protection Complaint; and How to deal with receiving Youth Protection Complaint. Add in any club/ branch specific child protection mitigation strategies that have been implemented since last season. All of the above documents are also available on the SLSQ website – www.lifesaving.com.au - Home > Member’s Hub > Resources > Blue Card and Information Factsheets

Who can help? Club/ Branch to add contact name & information here… Club to add contact information for the specific position holders who are responsible for elements of the strategy: Grievance officer Club Captain President JAC YMDO etc. Could also add in the process here for the description of the complaints flowchart & what to do if you have to handle a disclosure of harm.