Commitment to Child Safety
Northcote Junior Football Club is committed to providing all children players with a safe environment in which to train and play, community sport-level Australian Rules football.
All children who are a part of Northcote Junior Football Club have a right to feel and be safe. The welfare of the children in our care will always be the first priority.
Child safety is the club’s principal objective for all that it, and its adult members do, as part of providing junior football each child member and their families, in line with the State Government’s Child Safe Standards (https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safe-standards/the-11-child-safe-standards/). The CSS include the introduction of compulsory, minimum standards for all organisations in the State that work with children.
The primary reason that adults are volunteering with the club is to provide children with the opportunity to participate in community-level football.
Every adult involved in the club therefore has a ‘child facing’ role and must be committed to ensuring the safety of all children in the club when involved in club activities.
To meet the AFL and YJFL requirements, all volunteers must be registered on Play HQ (https://www.playhq.com/) as volunteers and must upload details of their Working with Children Check – WWC – (www.vic.gov.au/working-with-children-check) to this platform. If we want safety for our own children, we must be committed to providing a safe environment for all children involved with the club.
Concerns or complaints that are raised with the club’s Child Safety Officers will be investigated and documented, with the key objective being to ensure the safety of a child / children, which will be achieved by means appropriate to the situation.
Please note, as part of our Club’s commitment to Child Safety, the following communication was sent to all Club Members in May 2025:
Club-wide communication
Child Safety Officers
If you have any concerns please contact one of our Child Safety Officers:
Child Safety Officer
Tim Wright
njfcchildsafety@njfc.com.au or 0438 067 103
President: Kellie Burns
president@njfc.com.au or 0413 597 087
Vice-President: Peter Simm
vicepresident@njfc.com.au or 0407 965 560
Background
Child Safe Standards were introduced by the State Government of Victoria as a compulsory, minimum standard of safety in all organisations providing services to children. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that children are safe.
The Standards aim to drive cultural change in organisations so that protecting children from abuse is embedded in everyday thinking and practice.
They aim to make keeping children and young people safe a key focus of organisations in Victoria and the Standards help organisations to:
- Promote the safety of children
- Prevent child abuse
- Ensure effective processes are in place to respond to and report allegations of child abuse
- Encourage children to ‘have a say’, especially on issues that are important to them or about decisions that affect their lives.
Each of the Standards must also be understood and applied with the context of the following in mind:
- The cultural safety of Aboriginal children
- The cultural safety of children from a culturally and/or linguistically diverse background
- The safety of children with a disability
Child Safe Standards:
- Establishment of a culturally safe environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
- Leadership, governance and culture
- Children’s participation and empowerment
- Family and community involvement
- Equity and diverse needs
- Human resource management
- Child focus complaints process
- Staff education and training
- Physical and online environments
- Review and continuous improvement
- Child Safe policies and procedures
Please refer to the Commission for Children and Young People’s website at https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safe-standards/the-11-child-safe-standards/ for detailed information regarding the above standards.
If you are anxious about the immediate welfare of a child call 000.
Further Information
If you require further information or have concerns, the following organisations may also be able to assist:
AFL
AFL Victoria requires each of its Affiliates and Programs to nominate a Child Safety Officer who is the initial point of contact for any report. Please see Child Safety Officer contact information above.
The AFL and AFL Victoria ensures these standards are adopted across all areas of football in Victoria.
www.aflvic.com.au/safeguarding-children
https://play.afl/learning-resource/safeguarding-children-young-people
AFL Child Safeguarding and Wellbeing Policy (As at May 2023)
YJFL
www.yarrajfl.org.au/safeguarding-children
Vicsport
www.vicsport.com.au/child-safe-sport
(03) 9698 8109
Vicsport, in conjunction with the Victorian Government, have developed a number of information sheets, templates and guidelines.
Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing – Child Protection
https://services.dffh.vic.gov.au/child-protection
Victorian Government Child Protection Contacts
https://services.dffh.vic.gov.au/child-protection-contacts
Victoria Police – Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team (SOCIT)
North-West Metropolitan
(03) 8690 4056