In South Australia, organisations providing services to children and young people must, by law, provide child safe environments.
Organisations (including sole traders) providing services to children and young people must:
- have child safe environments policy(ies) in place and at a minimum, review their policy(ies) once every 5 years
- meet Working with Children Check obligations, and
- lodge a child safe environments compliance statement with the Department of Human Services and lodge a new statement each time policy(ies) are reviewed and updated.
Lodging a compliance statement is free
After registering on the child safe environments compliance system, you will be required to answer a range of questions about your child safe policies and to upload your policies for assessment.
These answers and documents become evidence for your compliance statement. We will review your policies and procedures to ensure they capture SA legislative requirements and the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
You have six months to complete your child safe environments compliance statement from after we begin the review of your policies and procedures.
A penalty of up to $10,000 may apply if your organisation does not lodge a compliance statement.
Who must lodge a compliance statement
All organisations providing services to children and young people must lodge a compliance statement. This includes (but is not limited to):
- allied health practitioners
- accommodation or residential services for children (including school camp providers)
- services provided by religious organisations
- childcare or child-minding services
- coaching or tuition services
- disability services for children
- commercial services provided directly to children (including face painters, photographers)
- sports
- transport services for children
- any other service or activity declared by section 7 of the Child Safety (Prohibeted Persons) Act 2016.
This includes State authorities, non-government organisations, sole traders and people working in partnerships.
Section 6 of the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016 tells you which organisations are included.
Lodging your compliance statement
Learn how to lodge your child safe environments statement online.