Year in Review 2022 Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst 25 Sandhurst Diocese Reports Anne McIntosh Diocesan Safeguarding Officer Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd – NCSS edition 2 covering adults at risk as well as children Edition 2 of the standards were formally launched December 7 2022 and takes into account safeguarding requirements for adults at risk as well as children. The Diocese is in the process of updating policies and procedures to include adults at risk within our policies. The approximate date for complying with edition 2 of the NCSS is June 2024. Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd – Safeguarding Audit of the Diocese of Sandhurst The ACSL audit (2020-2021), to comply with the NCSS included detailed safeguarding interviews with the Coordinator, key members of the Chancery, and samples from nine parishes across the diocese, concluded in April 2021. The findings of the audit were that, overall, 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 provided twelve recommendations; five medium-rated and seven low-rated recommendations. At the close of 2022, the Diocese complies with most of these recommendations. All parishes/organisations are aware of areas needing to ensure compliance and are working towards this. The Diocese is still working towards complying with two recommendations which should be resolved early in 2023. CCYP (Commission for Children and Young People) – Victorian Child Safe Standards The Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst embraced the necessity of compliance with the Victorian Child Safe Standards (VCSS), following government recommendations to comply with the standards, effective from 1 January 2017. CCYP – VCSS – New Standards effective 1 July 2022 Since then, VCSS have been updated from 7 to 11 standards to align with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. These new standards provide more clarity and are more consistent with Standards in the rest of Australia including the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. CCYP – VCSS – Standard 1 is a new standard and highlights “Organisations establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued”. Our Diocesan Safeguarding Policy for Children and Young People has recently been updated to strengthen our commitment to welcoming and including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. Refer to the Diocesan Safeguarding Policy and the Diocesan Website for information regarding how we can communicate with all children and young people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. CCYP – VCSS – New Laws New laws start on January 1 2023. The new laws include stronger penalties for organisations that do not comply with the Child Safe Standards, and provide the Commission with more powers to assess and enforce compliance with the Standards. The new laws also change which regulators have a role in enforcing the Standards and the sectors they regulate. This means that some organisations will have a new regulator in January. Organisations which provide multiple types of services to children and young people might have more than one regulator. Support for parishes and entities in the Diocese As the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer, I have visited most parishes/entities in the past year following on from COVID restrictions, and will continue visitations in 2023 to assist parishes/entities in complying with their Safeguarding obligations. All parishes/entities have been provided with a copy of the updated Diocesan Safeguarding Policy for Children and Young People and a ‘Summary of the Diocesan Safeguarding Policy’ so that they can update with the parish/entity’s name and contact details of the parish Child Safety Officer/s, or Safeguarding Officer/s. This information is to be openly displayed in all Church buildings and on the parish/entity’s website, if applicable. Clergy and Parish Child Safety Officers/Team members have been overwhelmingly positive in their leadership in child protection activities during 2022. New safeguarding training opportunities will be available in 2023 and all parishes/entities will be notified when the online training module is available. The Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst is dedicating significant resources to reform in order to apply best practice to ensure that children, young people, and adults at risk in our Diocese flourish and thrive.
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