Safeguarding Children Services
Keeping children and young people safe from abuse and exploitation in organisations
What is child safeguarding?
āFor companies, āchild safeguardingā refers to the actions that address how business operations and work practice impact childrenās welfare. At its most basic, safeguarding entails the prevention of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and maltreatment by employees and other persons whom the company is responsible for, such as partners, visitors to corporate premises or volunteers.ā
(UNICEF, 2018, p. 4)
Building and supporting child safe organisations
At the heart of our work is the simple belief: every child deserves the best childhood. We know that children who have experienced abuse or neglect can heal when they are surrounded by safe, nurturing relationships and environments. Our role is to help organisations of every size across Australia create those child safe environments by embedding safeguarding into their governance, policies, and culture.
Safeguarding children is a journey that moves from awareness, to building strong foundations, meeting compliance, striving for excellence, and maintaining continual best practice.
The safeguarding journey
At every stage, we walkĀ alongside your organisation,Ā providingĀ the guidance,Ā training,Ā tools, and assurance you need to keep moving forward, strengthen child safety, and buildĀ safer cultures and environments for children and young people.
Safeguarding Certification
Our Safeguarding Certification is designed for organisations that work with children, as well as those that support child-facing organisations, such as peak bodies.
This certification gives organisations confidence that their safeguarding policies, procedures, and training align with recognised best practice standards and comply with all relevant legislative requirements. It ensures every member of a workforce is equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to play their part in keeping children and young people safe.
Safeguarding Certification is typically achieved within 12 months and involves three key stages:
- Developing your safeguarding strategy. We work with you to analyse your organisationās characteristics and compliance requirements, ensuring you are ready to move forward with a clear plan.
- Engaging stakeholders and building an implementation plan. We provide resources and tools to involve staff, leaders, volunteers, families, and others in reviewing and developing safeguarding policies and procedures.
- Implementing policies and training. We support you to embed updated policies across your organisation, including rolling out training so that everyone understands their safeguarding responsibilities.
The Certification is valid for up to two years and is ideal for organisations at the foundation or compliance stages of their safeguarding journey. While it does not include an independent audit or panel review, our Safeguarding Certification provides a strong benchmark and can be a stepping stone towards full Safeguarding Accreditation.
Safeguarding Accreditation
Our Safeguarding Accreditation is best suited to organisations that work with children, provide services for children, or support organisations that work with children, such as peak bodies.
This threeāyear supported program strengthens an organisationās childāsafe culture through independent audits and expert panel review.
Through tailored reviews, policy development, workforce training, and leadership coaching, we build your organisations capacity to protect children and young people from abuse and exploitation. Our approach combines expert advice and guidance, evidence-based tools, and lived experience insights to embed safeguarding into every level of your organisation, from the Boardroom to frontline practice.
Working alongside us means:
- Strong culture. Creating environments where safeguarding is everyoneās responsibility.
- Robust systems. Reviewing and implementing policies, procedures, and risk management frameworks that meet legal and best practice standards.
- Confident people. Equipping leaders, staff, and volunteers with the knowledge and skills to recognise risks and respond effectively.
- Child-led practice. Ensuring childrenās and young peopleās voices shape the way organisations design and deliver services.
Safeguarding Capacity Building and Training
Safeguarding Capacity Building and Training is best suited to organisations working with and providing services for children, young people, and their families or carers.
Our child safety training programs ensure that everyone in your organisation, from the boardroom to the frontline, understands their role in keeping children and young people safe. This support is valuable for organisations at any stage of their safeguarding journey.
Building the knowledge, confidence, and capability of your people is central to creating a strong and sustainable safeguarding culture.
Organisational Safeguarding Reviews provide a clear, independent view of how well your organisation is protecting children and young people. They are designed to give you confidence in what is working well, and a practical roadmap for where to improve.
Particularly valuable for organisations at the awareness and foundation stages of their journey, as well as those committed to continual best practice but not currently involved in our Safeguarding Accreditation Program, these reviews offer a powerful way to benchmark your current position, demonstrate accountability, and plan the next steps in building a safer organisation for children and young people.
Each review involves:
- Policy and procedure analysis. A detailed review of your safeguarding documentation to ensure alignment with legislation, standards, and best practice.
- Focus groups and interviews. Conversations with staff, leaders, volunteers, families, and where appropriate, children and young people, to understand how safeguarding is experienced in practice.
- Surveys and data collection. Gathering insights across your workforce and community to capture perspectives at every level.
The result is a comprehensive safeguarding report, outlining:
- Your organisationās strengths and good practice
- Areas of risk or vulnerability that may place children or young people at harm
- Clear, actionable recommendations to strengthen culture, systems, and practice
Bespoke Training programs ensure everyone in your organisation, from the boardroom to the frontline, understands their role in keeping children and young people safe.
We offer a broad suite of child safeguarding training packages that can be delivered online, face-to-face, or in blended formats. Examples include:
- Introduction to Safeguarding. Building awareness of safeguarding responsibilities and culture.
- Recognising and Responding to Grooming. Helping staff and volunteers identify and respond to early warning signs.
- Reporting Obligations. Understanding mandatory reporting and organisational processes.
- Safe Recruitment and Onboarding. Equipping leaders to select, induct, and supervise staff and volunteers safely.
- Creating Safe and Inclusive Environments. Risk assessment training for safeguarding and your organisational environments.
- Leadership in Safeguarding. Training for boards and executives on governance, risk, and shaping culture.
- Building Safeguarding Champions. Developing internal leaders who model and promote safeguarding practice.
- Child Safeguarding Officers. A comprehensive training for your Child Safeguarding Officer to build confidence and competence.
We also design bespoke child safe training sessions to address sector-specific or organisation-specific needs, including training needs analysis and Train the Trainer sessions.
Our Safeguarding Children Services Online Training makes it easy and cost-effective to ensure that everyone in your organisation, from senior leaders to frontline staff and volunteers, understands their safeguarding responsibilities.
Delivered through an interactive, self-paced platform, our online training provides a consistent baseline of knowledge across your workforce. It takes around two hours to complete and covers the key elements of safeguarding, including:
- Understanding child abuse and neglect
- Recognising grooming behaviours in organisations
- Codes of conduct and professional boundaries
- Safe recruitment and induction practices
- Listening to the voices of children and families
- Diversity, inclusion, and equity
- Reporting and responding to concerns
- Risk assessment and management
Features include:
- Accessible anywhere, anytime – and optimised for desktop, mobile, and tablet.
- Knowledge checks to reinforce learning and track progress.
- Certificates of completion, valid for three years.
- Real-time reporting to track who has completed the training.
- Scalable delivery, suitable for organisations of any size.
On Us is a national initiative of Australian Childhood Foundation, bringing together businesses across industries with a shared commitment: that children and young people are safe wherever they are. Even if companies do not work directly with children, their products, services, and operations can still have an impact and On Us provides the tools and guidance to act responsibly.
On Us is for businesses and corporations that want to embed safeguarding into their governance, operations, and culture. Members include organisations from retail, banking, technology, travel, hospitality, agriculture, and events, proving every sector has a role to play.
What it offers:
- On Us Business Principles. Practical guidance for embedding safeguarding in business.
- Self-Assessment Tool. An online tool generating a tailored report.
- Safeguarding Toolkit. Sector-specific resources and templates.
- Community of Practice. Member forums, networking, and twice-yearly summits.
- Recognition. Use of the On Us membership mark to show commitment.
By joining On Us, businesses gain practical tools to reduce risk, build trust, and demonstrate their commitment to ensuring their products, services, supply networks, operations, and people do not put children and young people at risk of harm.
Ready to start your safeguarding journey?
Create safer environments for children and young people with our expert guidance, training, accreditation, and practical safeguarding support. Whether you are building your foundations or strengthening existing practices, we can help your organisation take the next step.
Fill out the form below to start your organisationās child safeguarding journey.
We are proud to have supported these wonderful partner organisations to achieve and maintain the highest level of Safeguarding Children Accreditation
