Child safety in focus across Australia and New Zealand

In September, both Australia and New Zealand will observe dedicated weeks focused on child safety and wellbeing. Each campaign offers free resources to support communities in protecting children and young people.

In Australia, National Child Protection Week runs from 7 to 13 September 2025. The theme for this year is ‘Shifting Conversation to Action’.

According to the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN), the initiative began in the 1980s to engage and educate all Australians about the part they have to play in keeping children and young people safe.

Today, National Child Protection Week continues to empower Australians to understand the complexity of child abuse and neglect and to work together to prevent it. It achieves this by sharing evidence through webinars and events, as well as creating resources to empower communities to have conversations about children’s safety and wellbeing.

To view the program of free webinars during this year’s National Child Protection Week, visit www.napcan.org.au/official-program-webinars-events-2025

At the same time, in New Zealand, Child Safeguarding Week will be observed from 8 to 14 September. This year’s theme is ‘Parenting in a Digital World’. Several free resources are available, including podcasts with expert panels, e-learning developed by subject matter experts, and helpful resources and webinars. For further details, visit www.childsafeguardingweek.org.nz

When it comes to child safety in Australia and New Zealand, both faith-based and secular institutions have made some significant progress. However, recent news stories in Australia serve to debunk any lingering myths that child abuse is a historical issue. There is still much more work ahead of us when it comes to keeping children safe.

In the LCANZ, one of the key steps that our congregations in Australia have been taking this year is to submit an updated Child Safety Standards Action Plan.

As indicated at the end of July, we published a ‘thank you’ list of congregations that have submitted Child Safety Standards Action Plans or Child Safety ‘No Children’ Assurances, as required. See the ‘thank you’ list at www.lca.org.au/css/css-thankyou

The deadline for these mandatory submissions was 31 March 2025. If your congregation has not yet provided a submission, please prioritise this critical piece of work as a matter of considerable urgency.

If you cannot see your congregation on the ‘thank you’ list and believe it should be, contact the Safe Church Service Desk: phone 1800 418 588 or email safechurch@lca.org.au

Alternatively, please speak with your church council or chairperson.

Tim Ross is the LCANZ’s Professional Standards manager.