Purpose and scope

This page sets out Skills Insight’s position concerning workplace and work associated behaviour that may compromise the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable people in our community and provides the framework for Skills Insight’s response to such behaviour.

This policy applies to all employees, contractors, service providers, customers, visitors and volunteers engaged with Skills Insight.

A number of Commonwealth and State laws apply to the protection of vulnerable and potentially vulnerable people. Skills Insight will ensure compliance with all relevant legislation and this is a requirement for the implementation of this policy.

This policy is not limited to the workplace or work hours. It extends to all functions and places that are work-related, for example work lunches, Christmas parties and client functions.

Skills Insight values, behaviours and strategies are the foundations for this policy and all actions must be consistent with them. Any conflict between this policy and the values, behaviours and strategies of Skills Insight should be brought to the attention of the CEO for resolution.

Policy statement

All people, regardless of their age, gender, race, religious beliefs, disability, sexual orientation, or family or social background, have the right to be protected from abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Skills Insight commits to promoting and protecting the welfare and human rights of people that interact with, or are affected by, our work – particularly those that may be at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation. We have no tolerance for abuse, neglect or exploitation. We will take a survivor-centric approach in all that we do.

All staff, volunteers, partners and third parties of Skills Insight share responsibility for the safety of themselves and others whilst carrying out their duties within the workplace or work environment for protecting stakeholders from abuse, neglect or exploitation. Beyond this, particular people have specific responsibilities, and they must carry out their duties without exception.

Skills Insight commits to ensuring, as far as possible, that the products and services it creates minimise opportunities for abuse, neglect and exploitation, and consider the needs of safeguarding vulnerable people in development and implementation. Skills Insight will consider the opinions of potentially vulnerable people and use their opinions to develop safeguarding policies.

Skills Insight has a process for managing incidents that must be followed when one arises.

Skills Insight, including all personnel working with children, commit to the implementation and application of the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

Skills Insight will ensure that Working with Children Checks and Clearances are obtained for all staff and contractors prior to them commencing any Child-related work or work that has a risk of including working with children in more than an incidental manner.

Skills Insight will make available training and establish a compliance regime to ensure that all Child-Related Personnel are aware of, and comply with:

  • the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
  • relevant laws relating to requirements for working with children, including Working With Children Checks
  • relevant laws relating to mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse or neglect, however described.

Skills Insight recognises that none or very little of its work and potential work takes place as Child-related work, but will use a risk minimisation approach which will prioritise the safety of children when identifying potential Child-related work.

Skills Insight is committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children, and those from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to providing a safe environment for children living with a disability.

Policy outline

This policy outlines how Skills Insight will:

  • help protect people that interact with, or are affected by, Skills Insight
  • define the key terms we use when talking about protecting people or safeguarding
  • set out and develop the way Skills Insight manages safeguarding risks
  • set out the specific roles and responsibilities of persons working in and with Skills Insight
  • facilitate the safe management of incidents
  • support a positive and effective internal culture towards safeguarding.

Vulnerable and potentially vulnerable persons

While all people must be protected from harm, there are additional legislative and ethical considerations for protecting vulnerable people. Potentially vulnerable people can include:

  • children and young people
  • seniors
  • people with impaired intellectual or physical functioning
  • people from a low socio-economic background
  • people who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders
  • people who are not native speakers of the local language
  • people with low levels of literacy or education
  • regional, rural and remote residents and workers who may not have access to social support and services available elsewhere, or who have been required to relocate or travel for work or vocational education and training purposes
  • people subject to modern slavery, which involves human exploitation and control, such as forced labour, debt bondage, human trafficking, and child labour.

Vulnerable people are not limited to Skills Insight’s beneficiaries or the users of its services. They can include a stakeholder, staff, volunteers, and people in third parties, such as partners.

Key definitions

  • ‘Safeguarding’ means protecting the welfare and human rights of people that interact with, or are affected by, Skills Insight, particularly those that might be at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation. This refers to any responsibility or measure undertaken to protect a person from harm.
  • ‘Abuse, neglect or exploitation’ means all forms of physical and mental abuse, exploitation, coercion or ill-treatment. This might include, for example:
  • sexual harassment, bullying or abuse
  • sexual criminal offences and serious sexual criminal offences
  • threats of, or actual violence, verbal, emotional or social abuse
  • cultural or identity abuse, such as racial, sexual or gender-based discrimination or hate crime
  • coercion and exploitation
  • abuse of power.
  • ‘Reasonable grounds to suspect’ is a situation where a person has some information that leads them believe that abuse, neglect or exploitation has taken place, is taking place, or may take place. It comes with a low burden of proof (in fact, no proof is needed at all), but is based on some information. Questions that may help a person to determine whether they have ‘reasonable grounds to suspect’ might include:
  • Could you explain to another person why you suspect something? This helps to make sure that your suspicion is based on information, even if you have no proof.
  • Would an objective other person, with the same information as you, come to the same conclusion? This helps to make sure that your suspicion is as objective as possible.
  • A ‘survivor-centric approach’ means considering and lawfully prioritising the needs, right and wishes of survivors. This approach aims to create a supportive environment in which the survivor’s rights are respected and in which they are treated with dignity and respect. The approach helps to promote the survivor’s recovery and their ability to identify and express needs and wishes, as well as to reinforce their capacity to make decisions about possible interventions.
  • ‘Child-related work’ means work involved in one or more of the occupational fields or other areas that deliver education and services that usually involves direct contact with a child or children. Child-related work does not include incidental or occasional contact with child/ren.
  • A ‘Working with Children Check’ is a legislative requirement and process of assessment as prescribed in the Working with Children Acts and regulations of various jurisdictions, however named. A clearance from any individual Australian jurisdiction is sufficient to satisfy any need to obtain a clearance.

Roles and responsibilities

While the responsibility to protect people is shared by all who work at or with Skills Insight, some individuals have specific obligations with which they must comply.

The members of the board of Skills Insight are responsible for:

  • protecting all people that interact with, or are affected by, Skills Insight
  • ensuring that there are appropriate and effective ways for Skills Insight to do this
  • ensuring that Skills Insight observes all relevant laws relating to safeguarding
  • ensuring that Skills Insight takes a survivor-centric approach.

The Chief Executive Officer of Skills Insight must:

  • ensure Skills Insight has effective and appropriate ways to manage safeguarding and legal compliance
  • ensure that, within Skills Insight’s approach, reasonable steps are taken to protect people
  • ensure that reports to external parties are made where required
  • ensure that the person charged with carrying out the responsibilities relating to ‘Child-related work’ is appropriately trained and has access to experienced support.

The Chief Executive Officer or nominated delegate (approved by the Board), as part of their role and in addition to other duties, must:

  • manage reports of abuse, neglect or exploitation
  • ensure that all staff, contractors and volunteers are aware of relevant laws, policies and procedures, and Skills Insight Code of Conduct
  • ensure that all staff, contractors and volunteers are aware of their obligations to report suspected incidents of abuse, neglect or exploitation
  • provide support for staff, contractors and volunteers in undertaking their responsibilities.

All Managers of Skills Insight must:

  • promote a positive culture towards safeguarding
  • implement this policy in their area of responsibility
  • ensure that the risks of incidents have been considered in their area of responsibility
  • ensure that there are appropriate controls in place to prevent, detect and respond to incidents
  • facilitate the reporting of any suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation
  • take a survivor-centric approach to potential incidents and ensure that any incident is dealt with transparently and accountably.

All staff and volunteers of Skills Insight must:

  • familiarise themselves with the relevant laws, the Code of Conduct, policies and procedures for safeguarding
  • comply with all requirements
  • report any incident to the appropriate authority when it is reasonable to suspect that a person’s safety or welfare is at risk
  • report any suspicion that a person’s safety or welfare may be at risk to the appropriate authority
  • provide an environment that is supportive of everyone’s emotional and physical safety.

All partners and contractors of Skills Insight must:

  • implement the provisions of this policy and Skills Insight’s procedures in their dealings with Skills Insight
  • report any suspicion that an incident may have taken place, is taking place, or could take place.

Managing safeguarding risk

The way Skills Insight manages the risks of safeguarding will be:

  • Holistic. Skills Insight and its stakeholders will work to prevent, detect and take action on incidents.
  • Risk-based and proportionate. Skills Insight will regularly assess the risks to people in its operations and develop proportionate controls to mitigate those risks.
  • Survivor-centric. Skills Insight will put survivors at the heart of its approach to safeguarding.
  • Lawful. Skills Insight will ensure that it understands and complies with the law in everything it does, in all jurisdictions in which it works.

Skills Insight will manage the risk of safeguarding by:

  • having up-to-date and documented risk assessments
  • having awareness of Skills Insight’s legal obligations for safeguarding and workplace health and safety in all the jurisdictions in which it operates
  • having an action plan that sets out how it will manage safeguarding
  • adhering to this policy and it’s Code of Conduct
  • doing due diligence checks of staff, volunteers and third parties
  • implementing policies, procedures and systems that introduce controls to reduce the likelihood and consequence of incidents
  • conducting awareness-raising for stakeholders on risks, expectations and individual responsibilities
  • maintaining two reporting processes: the confidential reporting process, and the overt reporting process
  • having an incident response plan
  • monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness and proportionality of its safeguarding approach.

Managing incidents

Harassment, abuse, neglect and exploitation are all serious misconduct and Skills Insight reserves the right to:

  • Take disciplinary action against those it believes are responsible, which may include dismissal
  • Take civil legal action
  • report the matter to law enforcement.

All suspected, perceived, potential or actual incidents will be managed through the incident response plan.

Managing Working with Children risk

Skills Insight will complete and update, on a scheduled basis, a risk assessment to identify the level of responsibility for Children and the level of risk of harm or abuse to Children, and put in place an appropriate risk management strategy.

Skills Insight will require managers responsible for staff, contractors and service providers who are undertaking child-related work to hold current Working with Children Clearances, including the Chief Executive Officer or nominated delegate under the Protection of Vulnerable and Potentially Vulnerable People Policy.

Where it is deemed that a new or prospective employee, contractor or service provider will be required to have a Working with Children Check to work in child-related work, commencement of employment or engagement must not take place until such time that they have been issued an appropriate clearance.

It is a requirement under relevant legislation that Skills Insight confidentially stores all information and record keeping pertaining to Working with Children Checks. It is prohibited to pass on any information relating to the Working with Children Check of any individual to any unauthorised person including Skills Insight Board, Staff or Committee Member. This includes any data provided as part of the Working with Children Check such as date of birth and names.

The Chief Executive Officer is authorised to obtain access, and to delegate access as required, to relevant information for the purpose of implementing this policy.

Reporting suspected incidents

All staff, volunteers and third parties must, as soon as practicable, report any suspicion that an incident has taken place, may be taking place, or could take place.

They may do this through direct reporting to:

  • any member of the board
  • the Chief Executive Officer
  • the nominated delegate for managing safeguarding
  • their manager or supervisor.

If a person wants to report confidentially, including with anonymity, they may use the confidential reporting system, which is an anonymous report to any line manager in the organisation. If a person believes that another person is at risk of immediate harm or the victim of a criminal offence, they must contact relevant authorities and in case of emergency dial 000.

External reporting

Skills Insight will:

  • report any suspicion of a criminal offence to the police or the relevant criminal judicial body
  • meet all contract and legal requirements regarding the reporting of incidents
  • report any qualifying matter to relevant regulators.

Feedback and amendments

Organisations change and develop over time, and so do their policies. Please contact an Executive Manager if you believe that any part of this policy needs changing or updating. The Executive Manager will follow a policy review process as endorsed by the Executive Management Team.