Safeguarding

Cricket Victoria is committed to ensuring all adults, youth and children at risk are safeguarded from abuse and can enjoy the game.

Everyone involved in cricket has a shared responsibility to support this by promoting the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk.

Reporting a Concern

If you have concerns, or wish to report anything, you can call Cricket Victoria on: 03 9085 4000 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm) or email mpio@cricketvictoria.com.au .

If someone is in immediate danger, call the police (000).

Australian Cricket’s Policy for Safeguarding Children and Young People

Australian Cricket’s Policy for Safeguarding Children and Young People’ is in place to ensure that cricket creates a safe, fair and inclusive environment for all Children and Young People associated with our sport from Affiliated Associations and Clubs through to Australian Cricket programs and services.

As a part of Australian Cricket, we are all committed to ensuring that Safeguarding Children and Young People is central to the development of our game. By creating a national Policy focused on Safeguarding Children and Young People, we can now provide greater support to community cricket clubs and associations. This is through having nationally consistent resources, supported by dedicated website content and links to organisations such as Play By The Rules. Helping everyone understand their responsibilities when around children, and how to report any incidences of abuse.

To access Australian Cricket’s Policy for Safeguarding Children and Young People, and read how you can endorse and adopt this policy, please click here.

Statement of Commitment to Child Safety

Delivering a child safe framework across our sport is achieved through supporting Children and Young People, their parents and guardians and by Australian Cricket and each of our Affiliated Associations and Clubs striving to be a child safe organisation.

As part of our commitment to Children and Young People, Australian Cricket and the Affiliated Associations and Clubs seek to:

Provide a safe and supportive environment for Children and Young People;
Ensure that the experiences of Children and Young People are free from any form of Child Abuse, Bullying, Harassment or other inappropriate conduct such as Grooming;
Empower Children and Young People to act and respond to behaviour that is not acceptable or inappropriate;
Publicise and make available the Codes of Behaviour that underpin our sport;
Make information available on who Children and Young People can approach if they feel unsafe or they become aware of or are concerned about any form of Child Abuse, Bullying, Harassment or other inappropriate conduct such as Grooming;
Establish a reporting framework that allows Children and Young People and others to report any incident affecting the safety and wellbeing of Children and Young People; and
Provide support services to any Child or Young Person and their families who might be affected by any form of Child Abuse, Bullying, Harassment or other inappropriate conduct such as Grooming whilst participating in our sport.

Cricket Victoria organisations will, in addition to the above, also take reasonable steps to promote the cultural safety of Aboriginal Children and Children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds as well as promoting the safety of Children with a disability.

Changes to Working With Children Act

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse made several recommendations aimed at strengthening the protection children receive.

When did the changes come into effect?

1 August 2017

Why were the changes made?

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse made several recommendations aimed at strengthening the protection children receive. This included the development of the Child Safe Standards here in Victoria which came into effect on 1 January 2017.

What are the changes?

Expand the definition of ‘direct contact’ in the Act. The definition of direct contact now includes oral, written or electronic communication as well as face-to-face and physical contact.
Remove references to ‘supervision’ from the Act. This means that even if a person’s contact with children as part of their child related work is supervised by another person, they will still need to apply for a Working With Children Check (Check).
Create a new occupational category of ‘child-related work’, known as kinship care. Family members or other persons of significance caring for a child placed by Child Protection under the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 are required to obtain a Check.
Ensure that non-conviction charges (charges that have been finally dealt with other than by a conviction or finding of guilt) for serious sexual, violent or drug offences are considered as part of Check assessments and re-assessments.
Enable the Secretary to the Department of Justice and Regulation to compel the production of certain information for the purpose of compliance monitoring.

There have been a number of other miscellaneous changes made to the Act and further information will be made available once the impact of those are better understood.

What do I need to do now?

Cricket Victoria in conjunction with Victorian Metropolitan Cricket Union, Victorian Country Cricket League, Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association, Victorian Premier Cricket and Women’s Community Cricket Panel have revised the existing Cricket Victoria Working With Children Check – Club & Association Guidelines to provide direction and better understanding of the roles at your club or association that now require a Check as per the Act. These Guidelines have been adopted by the respective Board’s as required and will apply to members within the bodies listed above.

Cricket Victoria expect that each club and association make a copy of the Guidelines available for your club website and also communicate the changes to your members, ensuring that those who are required to obtain a Check do so.

Click here to download the Cricket Victoria Working With Children Check – Club & Association Guidelines

Click here to visit the Victorian Government’s Working With Children Check website

Member Protection Policy

Please refer to the following documents below to view our Member Protection Policy and an overview of the changes to the MPP.

Child Safe Standards

It takes many components to build an organisation with a culture of child safety. The Standards should act as a starting point from which your organisation can take action. The Child Safe Standards incorporate:

Strategies to embed an organisational culture of child safety, including through effective leadership arrangements
A child safe policy or statement of commitment to child safety
A code of conduct that establishes clear expectations for appropriate behaviour with children
Screening, supervision, training and other human resources practices that reduce the risk of child abuse by new and existing personnel
Processes for responding to and reporting suspected child abuse
Strategies to identify and reduce or remove risks of child abuse
Strategies to promote the participation and empowerment of children

For more information on Child Safe Standards click here.

Information and Resources

Play by the Rules is an interactive education and information website on discrimination, harassment and child protection in sport. Over the years, as more agencies have seen the need to promote Play by the Rules, they have joined as partners and helped by contributing funds, content and in-kind support.

Play by the Rules provides information, resources, tools and free online training to increase the capacity and capability of administrators, coaches, officials, players and spectators to assist them in preventing and dealing with discrimination, harassment, child safety and integrity issues in sport.

Listen to interviews with Usman Khawaja and Ellyse Perry on this topic.

Templates