Child Safety Commitment Statement
Hope Street Youth and Family Services is committed to creating a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment where children and young people feel respected, valued, and heard. Their safety and wellbeing are at the centre of everything the whole of organisation does.
Hope Street has zero tolerance for child abuse, harm, or exploitation. The team actively work to prevent harm by embedding child safety into our culture, policies, and everyday practice. We create environments where children and young people feel safe, respected, and empowered, and where their rights are upheld.
Hope Street recognise that every child and young person has the right to feel safe and be safe. We actively listen to children and young people and support them to have a voice in decisions that affect them. We recognise the importance of building trust and creating opportunities for participation. We respect young people, value their experiences, recognise their strengths and right to self-determination in all aspects of their life.
Hope Street is deeply committed to equity and inclusion. We promote the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people and strive to provide inclusive and safe environments for children and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, those living with disability, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+. We recognise and respond to the additional needs of children and young people experiencing vulnerability, including homelessness and family violence.
Hope Street pro-actively aims to uphold the following principles in line with the Victorian Child Safe Standards:
- Strong leadership and governance that prioritises child safety and wellbeing.
- A culture that is safe, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of children and young people.
- Clear expectations for staff and volunteers through a Code of Conduct.
- Safe recruitment, screening, and ongoing supervision of staff and volunteers.
- Ongoing training and support to ensure staff understand their child safety responsibilities.
- Processes that enable children and young people to raise concerns and be taken seriously.
- Effective complaint handling and reporting systems.
- A focus on continuous improvement through regular review of policies and practices.
- Risk management strategies to identify and reduce the risk of harm in physical and online environments.
Hope Street ensures that its staff and volunteers are carefully recruited, trained, and supported to uphold child safety. All staff understand their responsibilities to identify and respond to concerns, and to act in the best interests of children and young people at all times.
Children, young people, families, and communities are encouraged to speak up if they feel unsafe or have concerns. Hope Street takes all concerns seriously and responds in a timely, respectful, transparent, and professional way.
Child safety is everyone’s responsibility, and Hope Street is dedicated to continuously strengthening its practices to keep children and young people safe.
National Redress Scheme
Hope Street participates in the National Redress Scheme for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. The Scheme is open until 30 June 2027.
The program offers monetary payments of up to $150,000, access to counselling, and a direct personal response, such as an apology, for eligible survivors.
Survivors seeking information about the Scheme, including how to apply and access free and confidential Redress Support Services, can visit the National Redress Scheme Resources page or contact the Scheme directly. Support is available by calling 1800 737 377 within Australia (call charges may apply) or +61 6222 3455 from overseas.