The Child Safe Standards:

• aim to drive continuous improvement in the way organisations prevent child abuse, encourage reporting and improve responses to allegations of abuse

• form part of the Victorian Government's response to the Betrayal of Trust Inquiry, which found that more must be done to prevent and respond to child abuse in our community

The Child Safe Standards require early childhood services to implement the following:

• 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