International - child and student empowerment

About the Standard

Keeping children safe is an important responsibility for providers.

It is important to ask children when they feel safe, and when they feel unsafe. Helping children to speak up about issues of safety and wellbeing helps reduce the risk of harm. Children have the right to be protected wherever they are, and that includes learning away from home.

This Standard requires providers to create a culture that:

informs children about their rights
offers children access to sexual abuse prevention programs
values and encourages student voice
recognises the importance of friendships and peer support
equips staff and volunteers to identify and act against signs of abuse and harm.

Are you a registered school?

CRICOS schools and SEOs that are also registered schools should follow the child safe advice for schools. They must ensure their CRICOS and SEOs operations are incorporated into the school’s compliance with the Standards. They should tailor advice to their international student cohort and community.

Schools - child and student empowerment regulations

Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

A CRICOS or SEO school complying with this Standard may:

continually review child safety for international students
offer professional learning to international staff and volunteers to:
- recognise signs of harm
- report concerns
- support students to express their views
- be responsive to feedback from students, parents and homestay or host families
- emphasise friendships to strengthen confidence and engagement
- provide child-appropriate and accessible safety training
create opportunities for international students to have a say about issues affecting them:
- physical environment
- staff behaviour
- school practices
provide evidence of accessible child-friendly complaint mechanisms for international students
document actions and strategies to support international students to:
- understand their rights
- connect with their peers and not be isolated
- raise concerns
- provide input relating to the school's operations and environment
- be made aware of and access sexual abuse prevention programs.

Are you a non-school student exchange organisation?

Non-school student exchange organisations (SEOs) should follow the advice provided on this page and ensure that student care and oversight of inbound and outbound exchange programs match.

How to comply

A non-school SEO must provide evidence of:

staff and volunteer training to identify signs of harm
a Child Safety Code of Conduct for staff and volunteers
the provision of student sexual abuse prevention programs where relevant
exchange students that are informed about their rights including to safety and participation
supporting exchange students to make connections and be less isolated
forums for exchange students to have a voice in decisions affecting them
how the SEO is responsive to children's feedback
communication and engagement resources including website, marketing and exchange student handbook that:
- is age-appropriate
- written in plain English
- includes how to report concerns.

Examples of compliance

A non-school SEO complying with this Standard may:

review, revise and update existing documents
support complaint mechanisms for exchange students to raise safety issues and feedback about:
- physical environment
- host family
- host school
- SEO staff and volunteers
- SEO practices
have strategies to manage risks to the safety and welfare of exchange students
develop a Child Safety Code of Conduct that specifies acceptable and unacceptable behavioural standards
train staff and volunteers to help them understand, recognise and act on signs of child abuse or harm
promote communication and engagement resources that explain the complaints process and how to access sexual abuse prevention programs. This could be as part of the:
- SEO's website
- student exchange handbook
- welcome pack
- information sessions
- marketing material.

In complying with Child Safe Standard 3 an organisation must, at a minimum, ensure:
- children and young people are informed about all of their rights, including to safety, information and participation
- the importance of friendships is recognised and support from peers is encouraged, to help children and young people feel safe and be less isolated
- where relevant to the setting or context, children and young people are offered access to sexual abuse prevention programs and to relevant related information in an age-appropriate way
- staff and volunteers are attuned to signs of harm and facilitate child-friendly ways for children and young people to express their views, participate in decision-making and raise their concerns
- organisations have strategies in place to develop a culture that facilitates participation and is responsive to the input of children and young people
- organisations provide opportunities for children and young people to participate and are responsive to their contributions, thereby strengthening confidence and engagement.
- The Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP)(opens in a new window) — provides tools to guide and support the implementation of this Standard including:
  - A guide for creating a Child Safe Organisation(opens in a new window)
  - Empowerment and participation: a guide for organisations working with children and young people(opens in a new window)
- The Department of Education and Training provides support for:
- The New South Wales Office of the Children's Guardian's Codes of Conduct: a guide to developing child safe Codes of Conduct(opens in a new window) provides extensive advice on developing a Child Safety Code of Conduct.
- Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission's human rights(opens in a new window).

Education

Updated 28 February 2024