This article applies to subscribers in Queensland that provide services to children or facilities for use by children.
Child Safe Organisations Bill 2024 (Qld)
On 11 September 2024, the Child Safe Organisations Bill 2024 (Qld) (the Bill) passed the Queensland Parliament and is awaiting Royal Assent. The Bill will commence in a phased approach.
Operationally significant changes
The Bill establishes a child safety scheme in Queensland. The most significant changes (from an operational perspective), include:
- introducing 10 principle-based child safe standards (CSS) and a universal principle related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander children which organisations that deal with children must meet;
- implementing a reportable conduct scheme (RCS) applying to organisations with a high level of responsibility for children; and
- establishing the Queensland Family and Child Commission (the Commission) as the independent oversight body responsible for administering the new scheme.
Further information
Child Safe Standards
The Bill establishes a legislative framework for the mandatory implementation of, and compliance with, the CSS by child safe entities that provide services specifically for children, or facilities specifically for use by children who are under the supervision of the entity. The Bill also establishes a universal principle for child safe entities to provide environments that promote and uphold the right to cultural safety of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children. The Bill requires the universal principle to be implemented and embedded by child safe entities in their implementation of each of the 10 CSS.
Specific entities or classes of entities required to implement the standards will be prescribed by regulation. It is stated in the explanatory note to the Bill that the CSS are intended to apply to a broad range of sectors working with children including early childhood education and care, child protection, sport and recreation, community and commercial services, as well as organisations presently required to produce a Child and Youth Risk Management Strategy under the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 (Qld). Organisations not captured may voluntarily opt-in to the scheme.
Reportable conduct scheme
The RCS will apply to entities that care for, supervise or exercise authority over children, and are prescribed under Schedule 2 of the Bill or by regulation. Such entities include early childhood education and care services, disability services, supported accommodation or residential services, religious bodies, health services, child protection services, justice and detention services and government entities. The scope will be narrower than the CSS, as it is intended to focus on institutions that exercise a high degree of responsibility for children and/or engage in activities that involve a heightened risk of child sexual abuse.
The head of an entity will have obligations under the Bill to:
- ensure systems are in place for: preventing reportable conduct, enabling reporting to the entity or Commission in relation to their workers, and investigating and responding to reportable allegations against and convictions of their workers;
- notify the Commission of reportable allegations or convictions that they become aware of against their workers through an initial report and interim report as applicable; and
- arrange for an investigation of the reportable allegation or reportable conviction, and provide a final report to the Commission which includes findings as to whether the worker engaged in reportable conduct.
The Bill defines the ‘head of an entity’ to mean the chief executive of the entity in the first instance, or otherwise a principal officer or other person or holder of a position approved by the Commission, depending on available roles within the entity. The functions of the head of an entity under the RCS may be delegated to an appropriately qualified person. The Bill defines ‘reportable conduct’ to include: a child sexual offence; sexual misconduct committed in relation to, or in the presence of a child; ill-treatment of a child; significant neglect of a child; physical violence committed in relation to, or in the presence of, a child; or behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm to a child. Reportable conduct does not include conduct that is reasonable for the discipline, management or care of a child taking into account characteristics of the child and any applicable or relevant code of conduct or professional standard.
Queensland Family and Child Commission
Under the Bill, the Commission is appointed as the independent body responsible for overseeing the scheme. The Commission’s key functions will be:
- take a responsive, risk-based approach to regulation with an emphasis on capacity building;
- provide centralised oversight, working collaboratively with sector regulators to support organisations to implement the CSS; and
- administer, oversee, and monitor the operation and reporting of allegations of reportable conduct under the RCS.
The explanatory note to the Bill states it is intended that the Commission will exercise its powers in a graduated and proportionate way, with a strong focus on providing education and guidance to entities to build capacity in the first instance.
Please click here to access the full Bill.