Vulnerable People Protection
Measures are coming- will you be ready?
The Department is making a number of changes in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional
Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
One of these changes is in the way in which Australian Government grant recipients manage and comply with working with vulnerable people, including children (WWVP) legislation.
These changes are the first of many to fundamentally change how we protect young and vulnerable people in our community.
The changes create new reporting obligations on grant recipients which will strengthen their vulnerable people safety processes, culture
and compliance, as a condition of receiving funding from the Australian Government.
The Department will give effect to the outcome of the Royal Commission by working with our grant recipients on a two stage implementation process. Stage one will see all grant recipients issued with a Notice of Change to the Department’s Funding Agreement. This notice will update current reporting requirements to include reporting on WWVP.
What this practically means for grant recipients is in the first month of the new financial year (July 2018) we will be seeking assurance that you are compliant with current WWVP state or territory legislation.
This compliance will simply be a document which is signed by an office holder of your organisation confirming that you adhere to
WWVP state or territory legislation. We will call this a Statement of Compliance.
Stage two of the implementation will be working with grant recipients to meet the new reporting requirements which include:
Undertaking a risk assessment on the level of responsibility for WWVP.
Establishing and reporting on a training and compliance regime for staff on WWVP.
Providing an annual Statement of Compliance.
As this is a new process for all, the
Department will provide up to three months for grant recipients to meet the new
reporting requirements and we will work with you to achieve this by 31 October 2018.
The Department will be in contact with grant recipients in the near future to provide further advice about meeting the other reporting requirements listed above. The Department will be actively monitoring and reporting on these requirements on a regular
basis.
Below is a summary of the information contained above for ease of reference.
Background
In 2013 the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was established in response to allegations of sexual abuse of children in institutional contexts. The Royal Commission Final Report was delivered on 15 December 2017 with 409 recommendations aimed to make institutions safer for children. The Government has accepted most of the recommendations relating to the Commonwealth. For further information on the Royal Commission Final Report and recommendations visit
https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/
The support available for organisations
If grant recipients are unable to provide a Statement of Compliance by 1 August 2018, they must contact their Agreement Manager. The Department has established a process to assist grant recipients to meet their obligations and Agreement Managers will be able to support grant recipients meet current and future reporting requirements.
Monitoring and compliance
In current agreements with grant recipients, the Department requires organisations to undertake working with vulnerable people checks. These clauses specifically state that the Department can check and seek evidence at any time to ensure compliance with these requirements. From 1 July 2018, the Department will be regularly monitoring grant recipient compliance with the requirements. Any future agreements will include the reporting requirements.
The relevant working with vulnerable people and children legislation
The Department will be checking compliance against the relevant WWVP legislation.
WWVP legislation is currently the responsibility of each State and Territory and the relevant legislation and regulations are outlined below. Refer to the Legislation and Licence links.
Other State and Territory child safe resources can also be found here:
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/state-and-territory-requirements-child-safe- organisations-project
Further Information
Further guidance and materials on the changes will be provided in the near future.
Please also refer to the Frequently Asked Questions. If you have any questions on the changes please contact [email protected]
