LCA Child Safety Standards for Congregations
The LCA Child Safety Standards (CSS) for Congregations are designed to help congregations maximise the safety of children and young people.
It is also envisaged that they will help the church to meet its regulatory responsibilities in response to an increasingly rigorous child safety landscape in Australia and New Zealand. This is especially so in the wake of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
All congregations with children participating in regular worship, prayer or children's ministry are expected to implement the Child Safety Standards.
The standards were developed by the LCANZ’s Child Protection Project Team, and after churchwide consultation, were approved by the General Church Board in October 2021.
From Bishop Paul Smith
The bishop of the LCANZ, Pastor Paul Smith, talks about the many ways we care for children in the church in this excerpt from the Standards of Ethical Behaviour video.
Our actions, both as individuals and as Christian communities, are always guided by Scripture. This is also true of our Child Safety Standards for Congregations (CSS). Find the CSS Theological Foundations here soon.
What congregations need to do
Congregations are asked to review how they are meeting the Child Safety Standards every three years (the next review will be in 2025) by undertaking the following two steps:
1. Self-assess
Self-assess your child safety progress (click the blue button for more information).
2. Submit Child Safety Standards Action Plan
Prepare and submit your Child Safety Standards Action Plan (click the blue button for more information).
Round 2 of the LCA Child Safety Standards Action Plans are due to be submitted by 31 March 2025.
Read more ...No children in your congregation?
If your congregation has no children in regular attendance, you may not be required to complete the Child Safety Standards requirements. You may be eligible to complete a Child Safety ‘No Children’ Assurance’. This can be completed and submitted in the online portal (coming soon). Need assistance? Watch our how-to video.
Please visit our Resources page and download the documents to learn more about the standards and their implementation.
If you have any questions about the LCA Child Safety Standards for Congregations, please do not hesitate to contact the Professional Standards team or Nicole Hall on 08 8267 7300 or 0491 011 643.
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