child safety

At its October 2023 meeting, the General Church Board agreed to make some important changes to Child Safety Standards submission timelines. The next round of Child Safety Plans will now be due in 2025.

More than 90 per cent of Australian congregations have submitted either a Child Safety Plan or an assurance that they have no children in regular attendance, indicating that they are embracing their child safety responsibilities. The next step is to ensure plans are implemented and reviewed.

The LCANZ’s Child Protection Project Team this month has released two new congregational resources supporting the church’s Child Safety Standards (CSS). The new resources back up Child Safety Standard 2 – ‘We value, respect and listen to children’.

Child Safety Plans for congregations are now due on 31 March 2023, after the LCANZ’s General Church Board (GCB) approved an extension to the original deadline of 20 September 2022.

More than 370 people participated in the first LCA Child Safety Standards for Congregations webinar, held on Saturday 26 March.

If you are a congregational leader or if you are involved with children and youth ministries or programs, put the afternoon of Saturday 26 March 2022 in your diary now!