Introduction
This Statement sets out Hireup’s approach to creating an environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe; and provides the framework for maintaining child safe environments in line with Child Safe Standards.
Our policies and procedures have been written to demonstrate our strong commitment to creating an environment where all children and young people are respected, valued and encouraged to reach their full potential.
Child protection is everybody’s responsibility and this Statement and its associated policies and procedures apply to all Hireup staff, support workers, directors, members and other stakeholders whether or not they are in direct contact with children or young people.
Principles
A child safe culture: Hireup has a zero tolerance approach to abuse and neglect which forms a strong part of our ability to develop and maintain a child safe culture. Hireup encourages people seeking support, support workers, staff and other stakeholders to raise and discuss concerns.
Roles and responsibilities: Hireup management ensures that each person understands their role, responsibilities and the behaviour expected in protecting children and young people from abuse and neglect. People seeking support, support workers, staff and our board must comply with Hireup’s Code of Conduct.
Reporting a child safety concern or complaint: Hireup has clear expectations for staff and support workers in making a report about a child or young person who may be in need of protection. Immediate action includes notifying our leadership team of any concerns and the reasons for those concerns and reporting to the relevant state-based agency. Hireup will take immediate action in response to a complaint.
Risk reduction and management: Hireup believes the wellbeing of children and young people is paramount, and we are vigilant in ensuring there are proper risk management processes and procedures in place. We recognise there are potential risks to children and young people and take a risk management approach by undertaking preventative measures.
Listening to children: Hireup has developed a safe, inclusive and supportive environment that involves and communicates with children, young people and their parents/carers and we encourage their involvement and engagement to inform safe operations and build the capability of children and parents/carers to understand their rights and their responsibilities. In gathering information on alleged misconduct with, or abuse of, a child we will listen carefully and take each account seriously, we will also confirm our understanding and keep the child or their parents/carers informed about progress on their complaint or concern.
Confidentiality and privacy: Hireup collects, uses and discloses information about particular children and their families in accordance with state and federal privacy laws and information sharing guidelines. How we collect, use and store information is explained in our Privacy Policy.
This Child Safe Environment Statement is supported by the following Hireup policies, procedures and processes:
- Risk Management Plan
- Criminal history checks
- Working with children/vulnerable people checks
- Code of conduct for support workers
- Child Safe Code of Conduct
- Terms of use
- Privacy policy
- Staff, support worker and board induction and training & development
- Statement on complaints
- Statement on abuse and neglect
- Statement on incident response
- Responding to incidents of abuse and neglect procedure
- Information Sharing Policy (ISG Appendix)
This Statement and associated policies and procedures apply to everyone in the Hireup community.
Key Functions
Employment Screening
Hireup requires all employees to complete a set of worker screening and verification processes, relevant to each role and responsibility. Our disability support workers are screened in accordance with our Statement on applying, accessing and exiting Hireup for disability support workers and our Assessment and approval procedure for disability support workers. The performed screenings are:
- National Police Check
- Working with Children Check
- Working with Vulnerable People Check
- Reference Checks
- Certification Checks
We apply this policy justly and our decision-making process is rigorous, defensible and transparent. We also apply natural justice and procedural fairness in any decision made to exclude a person from child-related employment with us.
Throughout these processes we follow the National Information Privacy Principles when dealing with criminal history information.
Choice and Control
The choice and control built into Hireup’s model means parents and families of children seeking support through Hireup are empowered to make decisions about who is the right support worker for them. Hireup encourages all families to include children and young people in their decision making.
Hireup advises all families to complete a ‘Meet & Greet’ with potential support workers to ensure that the child or young person is feeling safe and comfortable with the support worker. There is no pressure to continue to book that support worker if they do not wish to proceed.
Incident Reporting
Hireup has clear and well documented incident reporting systems. Support workers or people seeking support and their families are encouraged and have the opportunity to make a report via the online form on the Hireup platform that is monitored by our Incident Response Team 24 hours a day.
Hireup ensures that all incidents are dealt with in the manner set out in our Statement on Incident Response, Documenting Incidents, Issues and Complaints Procedure, Responding to Incidents of Abuse and Neglect, Critical Incident/Crisis Management Procedure, Critical Incident Communication Procedure.
Mandatory Reporting
Hireup has developed clear mandatory reporting procedures that are documented in our Reportable Incidents and Mandatory Reporting Procedure, Mandatory Reporting Guide. These are aligned with our Information Sharing Policy (ISG Appendix). All reports are taken seriously and employees are supported by our incident response team in the process of making a mandatory report.
Learning and Development
To create and reinforce a child safe culture across all levels of Hireup we ensure that our workers are supported and have access to training and professional development to improve their performance and skills. We also monitor performance and provide regular opportunities for staff to share any concerns they may have.
Access to information
Hireup is open and transparent with our information, including policies and procedures. Our information can be accessed here in the Help Centre, at anytime and by anyone, including children.