Position
The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries
recognises that photographing and filming children in the sport and
recreation setting is usually performed in an appropriate manner and for
good reason, however the inappropriate photographing and filming of
children can occur which puts children at risk.
Sport and recreation organisations are expected to create and
maintain safe environments that are fit for purpose, provide positive
experiences and ensure the safety of children.
Purpose
Provide leading practice for the sport and recreation industry in creating child safe environments.
Issues
- Advances in technology have enabled the ability to take
photographs on a variety of devices, increasing the difficulty in
monitoring photographing/filming practices.
- Photographs can be taken secretly without the consent of the subject and used for inappropriate purposes.
- Digital photographs can easily be altered and/or transmitted quickly to vast audiences and place children at risk.
Background
In Australia, there are no laws specifically prohibiting
photographing and filming people (including children) in public places.
It is a legitimate pursuit to film and take photos at sporting events.
The laws around governing the taking of photograph(s) and filming
exist to safeguard the privacy and safety of people (including children)
from exploitation and inappropriate use of their image without placing
undue restrictions on legitimate activities. It is unlawful for
photograph(s) and film to be taken that is:
- indecent
- defamatory
- used to cyber bully
- used for commercial purposes without the consent of the subject
- being used for voyeurism
- protected by a court order
- in a provocative or sexual manner.
The rules around photographing and filming people on private property differ to that on public property.
Having free access to a place does not mean it is a public place and
is permissible to take photographs/film, such as; schools, child care
services, hospitals, nursing homes, shopping malls, sports arenas and
music venues. These places are considered to be private property even if
they are owned by government.
In circumstances that a sports organisation has been given control
over a public place (such as a beach or park) with the agreement of the
local government, the sports organisation will be able to control access
by photographers to the area. However, photography may still be
possible from publicly accessible places that overlook the controlled
area.
The owner of private property has the right to restrict, ban or
require permission of photography anywhere on their venue. Where a
sporting event is held on private property not owned by the organisers,
it is good practice to determine a mutually agreed photographing policy.
Sport and recreation organisations may impose their own rules to safeguard the privacy and safety of their participants.
It is courteous for sport and recreation organisations to seek
permission to take photographs/film of their participants that would be
used for promotional purposes. This could be administered as a
streamlined process at the time of member/participant affiliation.
In the instance that a person is considered to be photographing,
filming and/or sharing images inappropriately then it is advised to
immediately alert one of the following; event security/organisers, peak
sport and recreation body (club, regional or state sporting
association), social media entity(s) and/or WA Police.
Play by the Rules provides information for sport and recreation organisations to mitigate risks for acquiring and displaying images.
Implementation
The department has partnered with the Sport West, the Working with Children Screening Unit, Surf Life Saving WA and the WA Police — Child Abuse Squad to create Safe Clubs 4 Kids — an educational program
which supports SSAs and their affiliated clubs to create child-safe
environments and minimise risk. Safe Clubs 4 Kids aims to increase
industry understanding of how to create safe environments, how to
recognise the signs of abuse and what to do if child abuse is suspected
or alleged within sport and recreation environments.