Child Safety and You

Parks Victoria’s Statement of Commitment to Child Safety

Parks Victoria has zero tolerance for child abuse, and all forms of harm to children. We are committed to child safety and wellbeing in accordance with the Child Safe Standards, the compulsory minimum standards for all organisations in Victoria providing services to children under the age of 18 years.

Parks Victoria is committed to:

  • The wellbeing, safety, participation and empowerment of children
  • The promotion of cultural safety, participation and empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds
  • The establishment and continuous improvement of our child safe policy and supporting procedures
  • Involving families and the community, where possible, in promoting child safety and wellbeing
  • Working to minimise risk to the wellbeing and safety of children in both online and physical environments
  • The prevention of child abuse by regularly training and educating our employees to identifying risks early, and work on removing and reducing those risks
  • Taking all reasonable steps for thorough recruitment due diligence, including the requirement that all employees, contractors and volunteers in public facing roles hold a valid Working with Children Check
  • The provision of clear, fair and transparent processes in responding to, and the timely reporting of, actual or suspected child abuse; and
  • The modelling of Child Safe Standards at Parks Victoria by the leadership team.


Working with Children Checks (WWCC)

As a volunteer, you will need to apply for a Working with Children Check if you would like to volunteer more than once with a group. These Working with Children Checks are free for volunteers. Once you have your Working with Children Check card, you will need to upload a photo of it to your profile here on ParkConnect, so that Parks Victoria can ensure that we meet the Child Safe Standards. All organisations in Victoria that provide services or facilities for children are required to comply with the Child Safe Standards.

Volunteers who work in parks have a public facing role that can result in contact with young people. Parks are open to everyone; young people are actively encouraged to visit and experience parks and many facilities are shared.    


How do I apply for a Working with Children Check?

Please use the information sheet available here to guide you through the Working with Children Check application process (please note, you will need to apply through the Department of Justice website to apply for a Volunteer Working with Children Check).

It can take several weeks for your application to be processed and approved. You are still eligible to volunteer while you wait for your Working with Children Check to be sent to you.


How do I upload my Working with Children Check to ParkConnect?

Please use the information sheet available here to guide you through the steps to upload a copy of your Working with Children Check to ParkConnect.

If you have any difficulties accessing ParkConnect, or need help with the processes above, please contact your Volunteer Group. They can then speak with their Parks Victoria contact and get you the information and support you need.

If you would like to know more about the changes to the Child Safe Standards that came into effective in June 2021, please read more here