Child Safety

At the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family, we hold the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as a central and fundamental responsibility of our parish. We adhere to the Victorian Government's Child Safe Standards and follow the Archdiocesan Code of Conduct for Safeguarding for Children and Young People. A copy of this document is available for viewing below.

Reporting and Responding

We work to ensure all children, families and staff know what to do and who to tell if they observe abuse or a victim, or if they notice inappropriate behaviour.

Our parish records any child safety complaints, disclosures or breaches of the Archdiocesan Code of Conduct for Safeguarding for Children and Young People and stores the records in accordance with security and privacy requirements.

Documents

Application Websites

Working With Children Check
Police Check (paper based, in person ID checks)
Police Check Online ( fully online)
(Note: a current VIT covers WWCC and Police Check)

Safeguarding Information is available from the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in the following languages:Arabic, Burmese, Croatian, Italian, Malayalam, Polish, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese - View here

Holy Family Catholic Parish Mount Waverley is committed to creating and maintaining a child safe organisation, and has policies and procedures to achieve the Child Safe Standards:
1. Strategies to embed an organisational culture of child safety, through effective leadership arrangements
2. A Child Safe Policy or Statement of Commitment to Child Safety
3. A Code of Conduct that establishes clear expectations for appropriate behaviour with children
4. Screening, supervision, training and other human resource practices that reduce the risk of child abuse by new and existing personnel
5. Processes for responding to and reporting suspected child abuse
6. Strategies to identify and reduce or remove risks of child abuse
7. Strategies to promote the participation and empowerment of children.

Children and Young People are Welcome and Valued
Our Parish will always do our best to welcome and protect you and we have a Code of Conduct to help us

Child Safety in our Parish how you can ask for help
Code of Conduct Explanation for Children
Code of Conduct Explanation for Young People
Rights and Responsibilities for children

Information for Parents and Carers
Ways to Support and Encourage Children to Speak and Be Heard

Child Safety Training
The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne's Professional Standards Unit (PSU) have a number of Child Safety Training videos
If anyone wishes to bring a complaint of abuse against any member of staff, present or past, they may do so in any of the following ways:

a) If you believe a crime has been committed, contact the police 'Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team' (SOCIT)
at Mount Waverley Police (03) 9888 3755 or call 000

b) Contact: Professional Standards Unit of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne - phone 03 9926 5630, psu@cam.org.au (the Eastern Region Safeguarding officer is Brech Burgess - phone 0448 474 731, Brech.Burgess@cam.org.au )

c) Contact: Fr Justel Callos (phone 03 9807 9494)

d) Parish Child Safeguarding officers - Natalie Sillato and Janet Cullinan (phone 03 9807 9494)

More information about Reporting child safety related misconduct and/or child abuse from the Professional Standards Unit of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

Reporting requirements details