Year in Review 2023 Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst 33 Sandhurst Diocese Reports Anne McIntosh Diocesan Safeguarding Coordinator Diocesan Safeguarding Committee and is expected to be finalised in March 2024, after soliciting expert advice. When this updated Policy has been ratified by the Bishop it will be uploaded to the ACSL SelfAssessment Portal. A summary of the policy will be distributed to all parishes to update with their individual detail. As ACSL requires all Dioceses to be compliant with Edition Two of the NCSS by June 2024, I have focused on working with Parish Safeguarding Teams to ensure they have appropriate and up-todate safeguarding policies and procedures in place and that they are putting them into practice. In 2023, I visited twentyfive parishes and travelled approximately 15,500 kilometres to do so. To facilitate sharing of information and ideas between parishes I hosted numerous online meetings with Parish Safeguarding Personnel. In December alone, sixteen safeguarding personnel representing twelve parishes participated in online meetings and this will continue throughout 2024. I am confident that Safeguarding Teams are doing all they can to embed the safeguarding of children, young people, and adults at risk into their daily parish life, and that we will be well prepared for the ACSL audit in early 2024. Since I commenced work at the Diocese of Sandhurst, I have made over 250 parish visits. I feel privileged to work with so many committed people, many who are volunteers, who work diligently in our parishes to ensure the inherent dignity and fundamental right of all people to be respected and nurtured in a safe environment. I am grateful to Bishop Shane Mackinlay, Clergy of the Diocese and Safeguarding Officers in parishes for their unwavering support and overwhelmingly positive leadership in safeguarding activities, and I thank members of the Safeguarding Committee for their expertise, dedication and support given to me throughout the year. I am pleased with the progress we are making and am confident that parishes and entities in our Diocese are doing all they can to apply best practice to ensure that children, young people, and adults at risk in our Diocese flourish and thrive. The term ‘Children and young people’ refers to anyone under 18 years of age. ‘Adults at risk’ refers to any person over the age of 18 years who is at an increased risk of experiencing abuse or exploitation, including by virtue of their age, disability, diminished capacity, cognitive impairment, cultural background, life or personal circumstance. The Diocese of Sandhurst acknowledges that preventing abuse requires proactive approaches across policies, procedures and practices within parishes, agencies, and entities, consistent with the requirements of the following: • National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (Australian Human Rights Commission) • National Catholic Safeguarding Standards (edition two) (Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd) • Victorian Child Safe Standards and the Reportable Conduct Scheme (Commission of Children and Young People Victoria)
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