Safeguarding General Information
CRA is wholeheartedly committed to the gospel imperative to respect and enhance the dignity of all, and to building a world that is safe for children and at-risk adults, by supporting and implementing best practice in Safeguarding.
“The Church’s aim will thus be to hear, watch over, protect and care for abused, exploited and forgotten children, wherever they are.” ~ Pope Francis, meeting "The Protection of Minors In The Church," Eucharistic Concelebration, 2019.
In response to the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2017), state and territory legislative requirements, and consultation with subject matter experts, a number of structures and processes to enable a healthy culture of Safeguarding have been developed within the Australian Catholic Church:
Integrity in Ministry is a document of Principles and Standards for Catholic Clergy and Religious in Australia. It provides a Code of Conduct for clergy and religious engaged in Ministry on behalf of the Catholic Church in Australia.
Integrity in the Service of the Church serves as a resource document of Principles and Standards for Lay Workers in the Catholic Church in Australia, employees and volunteers.
Australian Catholic Safeguarding Limited was launched in December 2020 to oversee all safeguarding, child protection and professional standards in Catholic entities in Australia, replacing Catholic Professional Standards Ltd; read the CRA media release.
National Catholic Safeguarding Standards (NCSS) were established to provide a framework for all Catholic entities to build child-safe cultures.
Categorisation of entities applying the NCSS takes into account that different Church entities have varying structures, governance and levels of engagement with children. In recognition of this variance, CPSL developed a three-tiered categorisation approach to the application of the NCSS to children.