Child & Youth Risk Management Strategy 2014/2015 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 58 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 - Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 (the Act) Legally responsible as a 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 42% of our total membership are under the age of 18 (12, 606); there were almost 10, 000 junior activities members registered with SLSQ at the end of 2013/14 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, theWorking with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 (the Act) and the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Regulation 2001 states that: as a regulated organisation we must have a risk management strategy in place. On 1 July 2014, Blue Card Services transitioned from the Children’s Commission to the Public Safety Business Agency (PSBA), hence the Act and Regulation have changed. Thirdly, each club/ branch 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 Act. The Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 and the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Regulations 2011 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 Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) 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. This is really important to ensure that the club/ branch communicates where each of the documents can be found and or where to reference them if they are needed. 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…..eg. Member Handbook or on the Club’s website, or on the Member Noticeboard. 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…. Eg. Information from Club Administrator/ President about taking on the role & what is required.

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 eg. SLSQ MS04 - Receiving & Reporting Disclosures or Suspicions of Harm Policy. 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 (Chapter 8 of the Act), and Strategies for communication and support for all stakeholders including children and young people. That is how will the club/ branch communicate this to members/ parents/ guardians.

Changes to the strategy… Management of the Blue Card System is now handled by the PBSA - www.bluecard.qld.gov.au New Blue Card Forms & Information on the Members Portal – https://portal.sls.com.au (Folder ref: Library – Member and Club Development - Member Protection – QLD – Blue Card Forms) Blue Card Scenarios Factsheet V3 Procedure – How to set email notifications for expiring blue cards Templates updated on the Members Portal (Folder ref: Library – Member and Club Development - Member Protection – QLD – Child Youth Risk Management Strategy) Training Register Club Child and Youth Risk Management Strategy Action Plan Template How to deal with receiving a Youth Protection Complaint / Disclosure (Flow Chart) Flowchart for Reporting Youth Protection Complaint Important Information for Parents/ Guardians & Carers template Policy Updates on the Members Portal: Social Media Policy MC04 (Folder ref: Library – Governance, Policies, Forms, SOP's and more – 3 Policy – QLD – Marketing and Communications) 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: On 1 July 2014, Blue Card Services transitioned from the Children’s Commission to the Public Safety Business Agency (PSBA). This essentially means that the blue card processing is to be managed to the same guidelines as before but under a different organisational banner. The website address remains the same. New Blue Card Forms are available as at 1 July 2014 and have been prefilled with the SLSQ Organisational details. These are available on the Members portal. Folder ref: Library – Member and Club Development - Member Protection – QLD The following templates have been modified to suite the new legislation references: Club Child and Youth Risk Management Strategy Action Plan Template How to deal with receiving a Youth Protection Complaint / Disclosure (Flow Chart) Flowchart for Reporting Youth Protection Complaint Important Information for Parents/ Guardians & Carers template Blue Card Scenarios Factsheet – which form should I complete? Policy updates this season include: SLSQ Social Media Policy What processes or changes has the Club/ Branch put in place since last season? Add in any club/ branch specific child protection mitigation strategies that have been newly implemented. All of the above documents are also available on the Members Portal – https://portal.sls.com.au

Most important The following documents are most important for practical use: Summary for Clubs to Manage Child & Youth Protection; Flow chart for Reporting Youth Protection Complaint; and How to deal with receiving Youth Protection Complaint. The most important documents in the strategy for clubs/ branches to cover are listed below. The best way to look at this from the organisations perspective is to go through each step by step. The documents could also be included in members handbooks or other places where people would read them.

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.