Recent reforms to child safety laws have introduced clearer and more robust obligations for organisations that work with children or provide services or spaces for them. These changes are designed to ensure that children’s safety and wellbeing are embedded into everyday operations, rather than treated as an afterthought or a purely compliance-driven exercise.
Under the Child Safe Organisations Act, organisations that interact with children are required to implement the Child Safe Standards. The Standards establish a framework for preventing child abuse and harm, empowering children, and creating environments where children feel safe, respected, and heard.
Although the formal commencement date for some organisations is still in the future, many schools, government bodies, and institutional clients are already requiring evidence of compliance well ahead of time. As a result, organisations should begin preparing now.
What is the Child Safe Standards?
The Child Safe Standards are a set of principles designed to protect children from harm, abuse, and neglect. They require organisations to proactively identify risks, implement safeguards, and foster a culture in which child safety is a shared responsibility at all levels of the organisation.
While the precise wording of the Standards varies between states and territories, they are broadly aligned across Australia and reflect the findings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
From 2026 onwards, regulators are increasingly focused on demonstrable compliance. This means organisations must be able to show that child safety measures are actively implemented, monitored, and reviewed — not merely documented in policies.
Which Organisations Are Covered?
The Child Safe Standards apply broadly to organisations that work with children or provide services or facilities for them. This includes organisations delivering commercial services for children, meaning services offered on a paid basis that are directed at, or regularly involve, children.
In practice, the Standards may apply to organisations that:
- employ staff or engage volunteers who work with children
- provide services, programs, or activities to children
- operate in education, childcare, health, disability, sport, recreation, faith, or community services
- host work experience, internships, or youth programs
Organisations in this category will be required to comply with the Child Safe Standards from 1 April 2026. While commercial service providers are generally not required to implement a Reportable Conduct Scheme, they must still take comprehensive steps to meet the Standards.
Many organisations are also being asked by schools or partner institutions to have their child safety frameworks in place by 1 January 2026, or earlier, as a condition of engagement.
What Do the Child Safe Standards Require?
The Child Safe Standards consist of ten interrelated principles that work together to create child-safe environments. They address not only the prevention of harm, but also leadership, organisational culture, training, and meaningful engagement with children and families.
At their core, the Standards require organisations to:
- actively prioritise children’s safety and wellbeing
- prevent child abuse and child-to-child harm
- empower children and respect their views
- ensure staff and volunteers understand their responsibilities
- maintain safe physical, online, and culturally safe environments
Compliance is not achieved simply by having policies in place. Organisations must be able to demonstrate that child safety is embedded into everyday practices, decision-making, and workplace behaviour.
Key Employer Obligations Under the Child Safe Standards
From an employment law perspective, the Child Safe Standards affect the entire employee lifecycle — from recruitment through to training, supervision, and disciplinary processes.
Leadership and Governance
Boards and senior management play a critical role in embedding child safety into organisational governance. Regulators are increasingly willing to hold leadership accountable where systemic failures occur.
Safer Recruitment and Screening
Employers must implement robust recruitment and screening practices, including working with children checks, appropriate referee screening, and role-specific risk assessments. Inadequate recruitment processes remain one of the most common areas of non-compliance.
Clear and Enforceable Codes of Conduct
Staff must clearly understand acceptable and unacceptable behaviour when working with children. Codes of conduct should be enforceable workplace instruments, not generic policy statements with no operational impact.
Training and Ongoing Education
One-off training is no longer sufficient. Employers are expected to provide ongoing, role-appropriate training and regular refreshers, particularly where roles, risks, or regulatory expectations change.
Responding to Concerns and Complaints
Organisations must have clear procedures for reporting, escalating, and responding to child safety concerns. Failures in this area can expose employers to regulatory action, civil liability, employment disputes, and significant reputational damage.
How NB Employment Law Can Assist
Non-compliance with the Child Safe Standards carries significant legal and commercial risk. Conversely, well-designed child safety frameworks provide clarity for staff, support defensible decision-making by leadership, and demonstrate organisational integrity to regulators, clients, and the wider community.
Implementing the Child Safe Standards can feel overwhelming, particularly where clients, schools, or regulators expect compliance before statutory deadlines.
NB Employment Law supports organisations working with children by providing clear, practical advice and legally compliant documentation tailored to your operations. Our services include:
- reviewing and updating child safe policies and codes of conduct
- aligning child safety obligations with employment contracts and HR processes
- advising on investigations, disciplinary action, and termination matters
- training boards, executives, and managers on their legal responsibilities
- managing risk while ensuring procedural fairness
To assist organisations preparing for the new regime, we have developed a Child Safe Compliance Pack, designed to help businesses meet their obligations efficiently and confidently.
You can learn more about the pack and whether it is suitable for your organisation here.
If your organisation works with children or employs staff in child-related roles, now is the time to review your child safety framework. We can help you take a structured, legally sound approach to compliance before deadlines and expectations tighten further.