Child Safe Environment Policy

Introduction

Hireup upholds the right of all children to feel safe and protected and actively listens to and empowers children who come into contact with us.

Hireup has zero tolerance for abuse and neglect and rigorously follows our legal and moral obligations to take all allegations of reportable conduct and safety concerns very seriously.  We ensure such conduct is dealt with in accordance with organisational policies, procedures and the law.

Our commitment to promoting an organisational culture of child safety is supported by robust human resources, recruitment and screening processes and we provide all staff with training and education on abuse and neglect. 

We are committed to promoting cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and cultural safety for children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds.

We expect everyone at Hireup to uphold these commitments.  

Scope

This policy applies to anyone at Hireup including our support workers, HQ staff, the Executive Team, the Board and anyone engaged by Hireup. 

Principles

• Everyone at Hireup is responsible for creating a child safe environment. 
• Children and young people who receive services through Hireup can expect to be treated respectfully and kept free from harm
• We will display appropriate standards of behaviour at all times
• The concerns of children and young people are taken seriously.
• All reasonable steps are taken by support workers to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of the children and young people they support.
• Intervention for children and young people who may be at risk of abuse or neglect is timely and effective.
• Risk minimisation strategies, supported by clear policies and procedures, help to ensure practices at Hireup are child safe.

Participation

We invite children and young people and their account managers, carers and families to share their experiences at Hireup through feedback at the end of every support shift, formal requests for feedback via surveys and to participate in our 1 month and 6 month check-ins. 

Our Community Support team conducts regular check ins to ensure participants are feeling safe, supported and able to report concerns or incidents.

Hireup Recruitment Screening

Prior to starting work at Hireup we carry out reference checks and police record checks to make sure we recruit the right people. 

All staff, regardless of whether they are in direct contact with children or not, are required to hold a Working with Children (WWC) Check and to provide evidence that this is valid at all times while employed by Hireup.  Note: there may be additional checking requirements depending on where you are located.

Prior to activating a support worker’s account all checks are verified by Hireup and qualifications, certifications and references confirmed. 

Choosing support workers

Our platform enables account managers to have complete control over recruiting support workers for the children they represent and select those workers who have the appropriate knowledge, skills and training to provide safe, person-centred support.

Training, support and supervision

Hireup ensures that staff who come into regular contact with children and young people can access appropriate training to develop and maintain an understanding of child safety and prevention of harm.

Hireup provides training opportunities to support workers through online learning modules, for example, specific training on Abuse and Neglect.  Training modules can be accessed 24/7.

We advise workers as new modules are developed through newsletters, social media and emails.  A record of completion for all training modules is kept on each worker’s file.  

Upon signing a Service Agreement with Hireup each support worker agrees to familiarise themselves with all relevant policies and procedures.  Policies and procedures are available at all times in the Hireup online Help Centre. 

Other legislation, industry standards, policies and procedures 

Hireup is guided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the National Child Safe Principles

This policy should be read in conjunction with other Hireup documents, including:

• Code of Conduct for support workers
• Child Safe Code of Conduction
• Privacy Policy
• Statement on Child Safe Environments
• Statement on Complaints
• Statement on Abuse and Neglect
• Responding to incidents of abuse and neglect
• Statement on applying, accessing and exiting Hireup for disability support workers
• Statement on suspension and termination for disability support workers
• Reportable incidents and mandatory reporting procedure.

Reporting a child safety concern or complaint

We ensure all children, families and staff at Hireup understand their obligations and know who to tell if they observe abuse, are a victim, or if they notice inappropriate behaviour.

We take all allegations of child abuse and reportable conduct seriously and are committed to ensuring allegations are addressed in accordance with Hireup’s processes for responding to and reporting suspected abuse.

If staff have a reasonable belief that an incident has occurred they must immediately report the incident. If the incident is a criminal offence it must also be reported to the police.

The following conduct must be reported:

• A sexual offence committed against, with or in the presence of a child
• Sexual misconduct, committed against, with or in the presence of a child
• Physical violence committed against, with or in the presence of, a child
• Any behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm to a child
• Significant neglect of a child.

Please also refer to Hireup’s Reportable Incidents and Mandatory Reporting Procedure.

To maintain Child Safe Standards, Hireup may collect personal information.  Any disclosure of information will be managed in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the Privacy Act (1988).

Complaints Management and Reporting

All Hireup users have the opportunity to lodge complaints and report incidents through our online incident form, which is monitored by our Incident Response Team 24 hours a day. 

These can also be made to our Support Team by email hello@hireup.com.au or phoning 02 9113 5933 Monday to Friday during office hours. 

We encourage each child’s support network to provide feedback at the end of every support shift, then after the first month of using Hireup and again at 6 months.      

All incident reports are kept strictly confidential. We only involve relevant stakeholders in the communications, management and resolution processes, which may include the account manager, family members and an advocate if one is appointed. 

We communicate at every stage of the process.

If the account manager or the child’s support people are not comfortable with any part of the Hireup complaints process, proposed actions, or do not feel comfortable making a complaint directly to Hireup, they can refer to our Statement on Complaints, which includes contact details for relevant external agencies.  

We analyse all incidents and complaints to identify any changes that need to be made to policies, procedures or our response processes.  The Board and its Risk and Safety Committee receive reports on incidents. Information is only shared with permission in accordance with Hireup’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Any person who believes, on reasonable grounds, that a child is in need of protection may report their concerns to Hireup using our online reporting form.  In the case of a criminal offence the police should be notified as quickly as possible.

Version 1     I     Revision date:  Aug 2019    I     All previous versions are superseded     I     © Hireup Pty Ltd.

This document will be reviewed annually unless legislative or organisational changes require earlier review.