The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has produced its final Report. Volume 14 is headed Sport recreation, arts, culture, community and hobby groups (238 pages) and is accessible on The Royal Commission’s website – click here.
Volume 14 makes four specific recommendations in this section. These are as follows:
- All sport and recreation institutions, including arts, culture, community and hobby groups, that engage with or provide services to children should implement the Child Safe Standards identified by the Royal Commission.
- The National Office for Child Safety should establish a child safety advisory committee for the sport and recreation sector with membership from government and non-government peak bodies to advise the national office on sector-specific child safety issues.
- The education and information website known as Play by the Rules should be expanded and funded to develop resources – in partnership with the National Office for Child Safety – that are relevant to the broader sport and recreation sector.
- The independent state and territory oversight bodies that implement the Child Safe Standards should establish a free email subscription function for the sport and recreation sector so that all providers of these services to children can subscribe to receive relevant child safe information and links to resources.
In Appendix A it refers to a range of recommendations which appear in other volumes. The recommendations themselves, as you can see, are fairly unremarkable. There is nothing in the recommendations per se which require any specific implementation by sporting organisations of anything other than the child safety standards, as identified by the Royal Commission.
Appendix B to the document sets out the practice guidance for implementing the child safety standards. This section sets out the standards and the core components of each standard is highlighted.
It seems to me that all national and state sporting organisations need to review these child safety standards and to determine what changes, if any, are required to ensure compliance with the standards.
The recommendations of the Royal Commission are of course not strictly binding upon national and state sporting organisations, but organisations that seek to treat the issue of child protection as a high priority need to be cognisant of these child safety standards and consider the application of these standards as well as the recommendations of the Royal Commission.
I encourage you to look at this material and to consider its application and implementation. If you wish to discuss any of this, please give me a call.
Finally, for good governance Boards need to listen to their members and treat them with respect as very important stakeholders.
