Every conversation matters at Stirling’s child safeguarding forum

Every Conversation Matters: Building Child Safe Organisations in WA was held on Tuesday during National Child Protection Week, when Australians are urged to focus on how we can prevent child abuse and keep young people safe, supported and heard.

The product of months of collaboration between the City and WACOSS, the half-day forum featured expert presenters and panellists, including Commissioner for Children and Young People WA Dr Jacqueline McGowan-Jones and Youth Affairs Council of WA CEO Kylie Wallace.

It brought together 250 participants from a wide range of WA organisations, both in-person and online, to learn more about the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and how to implement them.

Representatives from Anglicare WA and Child Australia shared their experiences with embedding child safeguarding practices, including the challenges they faced and lessons they learned along the way.

There were also detailed discussions about child safeguarding through cultural and legal lenses, led by representatives from the Council of Aboriginal Services WA and Ombudsman WA, respectively.

“One of the primary messages of National Child Protection Week is that protecting children is everyone’s business, so it was encouraging to see leaders, staff and volunteers from a variety of organisations in the room,” City of Stirling Mayor Mark Irwin AM said.

“This forum was about giving participants access to practical strategies and resources that they can use to strengthen their processes.

“I hope they went away feeling more capable, confident and committed about the steps they need to take to create safer and more inclusive environments for children.”

Mayor Irwin gave an opening address at the forum and outlined the City’s experiences with child safety as WA’s largest local government.

Last year, the City undertook an organisation-wide review, assessing its policies, practices and culture against the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

A scheme is being developed in WA to monitor and enforce compliance with the national principles, a key reform stemming from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

While the City’s review identified clear strengths, it also showed there were gaps, risks and opportunities for improvement.

Findings from the review helped shaped a comprehensive improvement plan for the City, which will be overseen by an internal steering group.

“We’ve taken some significant steps on our child safeguarding journey, but we know there’s still a long way to go,” Mayor Irwin said.

“It’s a top priority for our organisation because we engage with young people every day through our programs, services, events and facilities, and we have a leadership role in our community.

“We’ve reached a point where a lot of the groundwork has been done and we need to turn the talk into action – this forum was part of that commitment.”