Diocese_Of_Sandhurst_YearInReview_2021

21 REPORTS InApril2021, theDioceseofSandhurst became the fifth Australian Catholic diocese to complete a safeguarding audit against the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards. The Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst embraced thenecessityof compliance with the Victorian Child Safe Standards, following government recommendations to comply with the standards, effective from 1 January 2017. Changes, which come into effect from 1 July 2022, are being implemented to the Victorian Child Safe Standards; the new standards set out minimum requirements and outline the actions organisations must take to keep children and young people safe. The new standards provide more clarity and are more consistent with Standards in the rest of Australia, including the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. The Diocesan Safeguarding Committee will compare what the Diocese currently has in place under the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards, (which are also aligned withNational Principles for Child Safe Organisations) and the new Victorian Child Safe Standards, to ensure we comply with the standards effective from 1 July 2022. The focus will be on culturally safe environments in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued. In June 2019, Catholic Professional StandardsLimited(CPSL),anadvisory group established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Catholic Religious Australia, finalised the 10 Child Safe National Catholic Safeguarding Standards (NCSS) and the Diocese continues to comply with these standards. CPSL has now transitioned into the new national body for safeguarding (an advisory group) and is called Australian Catholic Safeguarding Limited (ACSL), which represents an evolution of safeguarding in the Church. It is a company limited by guarantee, owned by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Catholic Religious Australia, and the Association of Ministerial Public Juridic Persons. ACSL has safeguarding responsibilities at a national level and brings together the work of two previous entities, CPSL and the Australian Catholic Centre for Professional Standards (ACCPS). https://www.acsltd.org.au ACSL is in the process of extending the NCSS (edition 2) to include safeguarding requirements for adults at risk. It is hoped that edition 2 will be finalised early in 2022. When finalised, these new safeguarding requirements for adults at risk will be incorporated into diocesan policies and procedures. ACSL Safeguarding Audit of the Diocese of Sandhurst The Diocese has been assessed as a “Category One” Church entity for application of the NCSS (working with Children). There are 10 NCSS standards, 49 NCSS Criteria and 111 NCSS indicators that apply to Category One entities. The audit commenced in October 2020 when restrictions on travel and face-to- face meetings were still in place due to the pandemic. As such, the review of documents, assessments of policies and procedures, discussions and interviews with personnel were conducted remotely, using email, photos, video conferencing and other electronic communication methods. Some face-to-face meetings and site visits were conducted from late November 2020 once travel restrictions in Victoria eased. The audit included detailed safeguarding interviews with the Safeguarding Coordinator of the Diocese, key members of the Chancery office and Youth Ministry. The audit also included detailed safeguarding interviews and review of documentation for a sample of nine parishes chosen randomly across the Diocese. The audit concluded in April 2021 and the overall findings of the audit was that the Diocese has fully implemented or has substantially progressed in the implementation of 96% of the indicators which are relevant to our operations. A further four indicators were in the initial stages of implementation. ACSL has provided 12 recommendations; there are no Priority 1 recommendations, 5 medium-rated and 7 low-rated recommendations*. The Safeguarding Coordinator of the Diocese provided parishes with the audit report and information regarding the recommendations. The majority of the recommendations have been implemented within the timeframe provided and communicated to parishes via email. To further strengthen the consistency of practices across the Diocese and improve networking between parishes,weheldthreeZoommeetings inviting parishes to come together and discuss the recommendations. These sessions were well received with many parishes taking part. Further Zoom meetings will take place in 2022 after the remainder of the recommendations have been completed. Clergy and Parish Child Safety Officers/Team members have been overwhelmingly positive in their leadership in child protection activities, such as at the in-service for clergy, which is attended by all parish priests, and attendance at the Zoom meetings. The Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst is dedicating significant resources to reform in order to apply best practice to ensure that children and vulnerable people in our Diocese flourish and thrive. * For full details of the NCSS audit refer to https://www.acsltd.org.au/wp-content/ uploads/2021/10/diocese-of-sandhurst-final- audit-report.pdf Ms Anne McIntosh Safeguarding Coordinator Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst Implementation of the Child Safe Standards