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The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) is committed to promoting the safety and wellbeing of children and young people it engages with, provides services to and interacts with through our funded organisations.

In line with this commitment, DLGSC contributed to the development of a WA Government Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and Wellbeing, which outlines a shared commitment and responsibility for keeping children and young people safe from harm and abuse.

The commitment includes the values and principles that form the foundation of DLGSC’s child safe culture and drives us to support our sector partners in their journey. This is underpinned by the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations which DLGSC’s Child Safeguarding Implementation Unit is leading the implementation of across the department.

DLGSC’s Child Safeguarding Policy recognises that all children are entitled to participate safely in vibrant, prosperous and healthy WA communities, free from harm. The policy requires any department employees, volunteers and contractors undertaking child-related work and/or interacting with children, do so in a manner which promotes and protects children’s safety and wellbeing.

DLGSC has recently released a child friendly complaints portal which provides children and young people with a dedicated online space to speak up and make a complaint about a DLGSC service or activity.

The portal includes accessible information on complaints and an easy-to-use online form which were developed in consultation with children and young people aged between 7 to 24 years from youth advisory groups statewide.

DLGSC has also been working to support the local government sector in understanding the child safe reforms that impact them, as well as building and maintaining child safety in their communities.

As a result of this work, the Local Government Self-assessment tool has been developed to raise awareness of child safe reforms impacting individual local governments.

The tool also provides resources for local governments on the child safe reforms that impact their operation and that help promote child safety and wellbeing.

For further information about DLGSC’s child safeguarding work, you can contact the Child Safeguarding Implementation Unit at childsafeguarding@dlgsc.wa.gov.au