Child Safety

As a Christian community, meeting together to worship God in the name of Jesus Christ, we affirm our commitment to the safety of each child and young person who interacts with our community.  God’s word makes it clear that all people are created equal and that any position of power is to be accepted humbly and with the intent of serving others, never to harm them.

Our faith motivates us to love everyone and never to discriminate against anyone, especially on the basis of age, race, gender, language, sexual orientation, disability or family/social background.  Therefore, we seek to protect the safety of all young people without exception. We take a zero tolerance approach to child abuse. We want our church to be a place where young people can come to know and experience the love of Jesus and his followers.

You can view the full outline of Anglican Diocese’ Child Safe policies and documents here, this site includes detailed information on Codes of Conduct, Clearances and Safe Ministry Training.

Got a concern about Child Safety at our church? Here’s what to do:

For a more detailed outline of Reporting Procedures please Click Here.

Volunteering or working with children

It is a requirement of our Church and the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne that all volunteers and employees undertake a preparation process before serving in a ministry that includes people under 18 years of age. As well as our moral and social obligations to protect vulnerable people, this is a legislative requirement of the Victorian Government.

These are the steps in the process:

  1. Register for a WWCC (or, if you already have one, connect your WWCC with our organisations)
  2. Complete a Police/Crim Check
  3. Apply for a Clearance for Service
  4. Complete a Code of Conduct for Child Safety and Wellbeing form
  5. Complete Level 1 Safe Ministry Training, plus Levels 2 and 3 as appropriate. 

UPDATING OR REGISTERING FOR A WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECK (WWCC):

Click here to Register for a new WWCC.

Then click the ‘Apply for Check’ button and follow the instructions.

Click here to Update or Renew your WWCC to be registered with St Matthew’s:

  • Click the “I want to register” button
  • You’ll be asked for some details to confirm who you are
  • You’ll get an email to confirm you’re real, follow the link in that email
  • Login with your email and password
  • Select “Change my details”.
  • Scroll down and add the following three organisations: St Matthews Anglican Church Panton Hill, Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, and Kooyoora Office of Professional Standards. You can find the details for each of these on the table below.
  • Make sure to click submit at the bottom of the page when you’re done!
Do you know which specific organisation(s) you work forYesYesYes
Organisation nameSt Matthew’s Anglican Church Panton HillAnglican Diocese of MelbourneKooyoora Office of Professional Standards for the Diocese of Melbourne
Postal number and street575 Kangaroo Ground -St Andrews Road209 Flinders LanePO Box 329
Postal Address Line 2   
SuburbPanton HillMelbourneCanterbury
StateVictoriaVictoriaVictoria
Postcode375930003126
Phone040366077603 9653 422003 9416 1008
Occupational work code64 – Religious organisation64 – Religious organisation64 – Religious organisation

St Matthew’s will be posted a copy of your WWCC once it has been approved. This copy will be put on confidential file for record-keeping.

POLICE/CRIM CHECKS

Please follow the instructions to lodge your national Police History Check online: 

  • Click on this link: https://www.crimcheck.org.au/check/PantonHillStAndrews 
  • Fill in the details.
  • Once you have completed the form and clicked submit you will receive an email from CrimCheck with full details of your check (including a list to help you understand what documents constitute Proof of ID).
  • You will need to obtain copies of your Proof of ID – these documents provided must consist of: 
  • 1 x Commencement Identity Document (eg: passport)  
  • 1 xPrimary Community Document (eg: driver’s licence) 
  • 2 x Secondary Community Documents (eg: medicare card & credit/debit card) 
  • Our Child Safety Officer will need to sight these within 10 days of you completing the check online.  Please scan and email your Identity Documents to markjsells@gmail.com  Alternatively you can show your Identity Documents to Mark in person.  Note: During COVID-19 restrictions documents must be delivered electronically. 
  • As soon as the check is resolved it will be emailed to you. 

APPLY FOR A CLEARANCE FOR SERVICE

Volunteers working with children are also required to obtain a Clearance for Service from Kooyoora. Kooyoora is an independent Professional Standards company that undertakes Professional Standards work for not for profit charitable entities. More information about Kooyoora is available here

Download the PRINT version (click here if you are between 13 and 17 years old) or the ELECTRONIC (click here if you are between 13 and 17 years old) application for a Clearance for Service. The electronic form requires the ability to use an electronic signature – you’ll need a program like Acrobat Reader to do this, not your web browser. You can download Acrobat Reader for free here. 

There are three ways to complete this application:

1) Print and Post

2) Print, Scan and Email  

3) Electronic Version 

You can find out more about this process at the Anglican Diocese website.

COMPLETING A CODE OF CONDUCT FOR CHILD SAFETY AND WELLBEING FORM

Everyone who works with children is required to sign a completed Code of Conduct for Child Safety and Wellbeing form and return it to the church office. Please click here to access the form from the Melbourne Anglican website. Under “Codes of Conduct” you will find a ‘Code of Conduct for Child Safety and Wellbeing’ line you can click on to access the form. We recommend you download the form and fill it in electronically and then either:

  • Sign it electronically and email to stmattspantonhill@gmail.com
  • OR print, then sign it physically and return it in-person to the office, or scan and email it.

SAFE MINISTRY TRAINING:

Our volunteers and employees must complete the online training appropriate to their role.

  • Level 1: Everyone
  • Level 2: Those working specifically with children and youth
  • Level 3: Senior leaders (e.g. staff, program coordinators, Parish Council Members)

If you are unsure if you need to do level 2 or 3 training, please ask the Vicar or Child Safety Officer .

There is a small cost involved for each training module. If you are able to pay that cost yourself then please do, with our thanks. If you are unable to cover the cost, please contact your team leader or our office and we will assist you. We do not want the fee to be a barrier to anyone being trained! 

Click here to see the Safe Ministry Training webpage. There you will find more detail on each module and links to complete the training in your own time.

Once you have completed all of the levels required by your role, you will be able to download a certificate of completion for each course. Please send these to stmattspantonhill@gmail.com for our records.