Your responsibilities: for leaders of organisations

The new Child Safe Organisations law—the Child Safe Organisations Act—holds particular responsibilities for leaders of businesses and organisations that interact with children. Depending on your organisational structure, these responsibilities apply to your leadership group, a CEO or equivalent, your board or governance body, or a combination of these roles.

Leadership that prioritises children’s safety and wellbeing works to create environments that prevent harm and respond to harm or misconduct if it happens. Strong leadership and clear governance lay the foundation for proactive, accountable and child-focused organisations where children are safe.

Child safe leadership works to prevent harm by:

• prioritising children’s safety and wellbeing
• setting clear expectations for staff and volunteers about children’s safety and wellbeing
• modelling these behaviours themselves in their work and in their actions
• having clear processes and procedures in place to identify and action risks and concerns
• valuing the input of children and families
• encouraging an environment of continuous learning and improvement.

Leaders should champion a child safe culture in across day-to-day operations. In practical terms, this includes:

• basing every decision on the safety and wellbeing of children
• building and maintaining staff capability to identify risks or signs of harm and taking prompt action
• responding to complaints or concerns that are raised
• developing, implementing and maintaining child safe policies and procedures, including a comprehensive approach to risk management
• screening, training and supporting staff and volunteers to deliver a child safe environment
• ensuring physical and online environments are safe for all children and young people
• enabling children to raise concerns and be involved in decisions
• communicating regularly with families and communities about the actions your organisation is taking to be child safe
• continually reviewing your child safe practices.

Board members responsible for an organisation’s governance must also take responsibility for embedding child safety and wellbeing across governance and operations. This includes things like a child safe governance framework and developing and embedding child safe policies and procedures.

The NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian has produced specific guidance for board and committee members about their Child Safe Scheme (the NSW equivalent of the Child Safe Organisations system).

Reportable Conduct Scheme

The Child Safe Standards are one element of the Child Safe Organisations Act. The other is the Reportable Conduct Scheme, which enables a business or organisation to properly respond if harm or misconduct happens.

The Reportable Conduct Scheme comes into effect from 1 July 2026, depending on sector. Not every organisation required to implement the Child Safe Standards will also be required to implement the Reportable Conduct Scheme; check our Timeline webpage for information about where it applies.

For organisations required to introduce the Reportable Conduct Scheme, leaders will be required to:

• ensure systems are in place for preventing reportable conduct, reporting, investigating and responding to reportable allegations against and convictions of their workers
• notify us of reportable allegations or convictions
• arrange for an investigation of the reportable allegation or conviction and provide a final report to the Commission
• provide information as requested by the Commission.

Learn more about on our Reportable Conduct Scheme webpage. 

Last updated
16 September 2025