Safe Church

SAFE CHURCH

Preface

Voice To The Nations Church is dedicated to establishing and maintaining secure physical, emotional, and spiritual environments that prioritise the safety of all individuals associated with Voice To The Nations in their sincere journey of embracing the Christian faith. This principle is actively upheld by every member of Voice Church under the banner of the ‘Safe Church’ initiative.

Voice Church is committed to addressing concerns relevant to the welfare of vulnerable individuals, particularly children and young adults, as well as the behaviour of our Staff, Board, Leadership, Volunteers and community.


To make contact with a Safe Church representative, please email safechurch@voicechurch.com.au.

For more information please read below.

CHILD SAFETY

Voice To The Nations Church Statement of Commitment to Safeguarding Children and Young People

Child safety and wellbeing is fundamental to the fulfilment of our church’s mission and vision. Voice To The Nations Church is committed to providing child safe environments, through the adoption and implementation of strategies that promote child wellbeing and prevent harm to children and young people.

Our commitment to children and young people

We intend to:


  • provide a safe and supportive environment ensuring that the experiences of children and young people are free from any form of harmful conduct, including child abuse, neglect or grooming
  • empower children and young people so they feel able to respond to any behaviour that is not acceptable
  • ensure children and young people know who to approach if they feel unsafe or have any child safety concerns, including abuse, neglect and grooming
  • provide age - and ability - appropriate codes of conduct to everyone who interacts with our church
  • establish a reporting framework so reports are:
  • easy to make for anyone in the church
  • responded to in a timely and fair manner
  • recorded appropriately
  • forwarded to relevant authorities where necessary
  • provide support for any children and young people who report or are suspected of being exposed to concerning conduct, including abuse, neglect or grooming.

Our commitment to parents, carers, families and their communities

Voice To The Nations Church is committed to supporting all the adults involved in our church, to keep children and young people safe from harm and abuse.


We intend to:


  • communicate with adults involved in our church our expectations around creating, maintaining and improving a safe environment for children and young people
  • share information with adults about keeping children and young people safe, including:
  • where they can find further information and advice
  • how to make a report if they suspect or know a child is being harmed, or if they observe a breach of our codes of conduct.

Our commitment to being a child safe organisation

We intend to:


  • ensure that Voice To The Nations Church staff and volunteers engaged in child-related roles follow our working with children and young people codes of conduct by:
  • making them publicly available
  • educating all our stakeholders about the importance of following them
  • use child safe recruitment processes that include a Working with Children Check (WWCC) and other screening checks as appropriate for adults who require them
  • induct all our staff and volunteers so they recognise their role in keeping children and young people safe, and ensure there are ongoing learning and development opportunities related to child safety
  • take steps to ensure Voice To The Nations Church staff and volunteers do not engage in concerning conduct with children and young people
  • ensure that all Voice To The Nations Church congregation know how and when to report any concerns, complaints or allegations of concerning conduct, including abuse, neglect or grooming
  • ensure that all Voice To The Nations Church congregation are provided with appropriate support if they are exposed to, or report, abuse, neglect or grooming.