ACC SAFER CHURCHES

No matter who we minister to, we want that ministry to be safe, encouraging and strengthening for both those being ministered to, and those who are serving within that ministry. ACC NSW ACT safer churches provides training workshops for credential holders, board members and volunteers in safer church ministry. The ACC NSW ACT safer church officer can also provide assistance and advice to churches as they implement safer church guidelines and procedures and if they have the need to report any incident.

Safer Churches National Helpline 1800 070 511

Below are some links to resourceful pages that can help your church meet the NSW and ACT Child Safe Standards:

Information and factsheets on implementing the Child Safe Standards

Complete a Police Check in NSW

Complete a Police Check in ACT

Apply for a WWCC in NSW

Apply for a WWCC in ACT

The Online Safe Ministry Training can better equip your teams to serve and create a safe environment for children and vulnerable people. It is designed for:

Safer Churches Induction Training for credential holders,

Safer Churches Refresher Training,

Safer Churches Essentials Training for volunteers.

ONLINE SAFE MINISTRY TRAINING

All ACC Credential and Certificate holders are required to complete Child Protection Training to maintain their Credential/Certificate. A refresher course is required every three years, in line with best practice and accepted standards. Before commencing the credential process, Senior Pastors are to ensure that candidates have completed the required Safer Churches training.

ACC has developed the following training options in conjunction with Creating Safer Communities (CSC) for all ACC pastors and teams.

SAFER CHURCHES INDUCTION (for credential holders)

This training is a requirement for all ACC Credential holders, or those applying for a credential who have not completed the face-to-face Induction workshop. This is in depth training and is also recommended for Board members and key team leaders, particularly those in Children’s or Youth Ministry. This training can be done individually or as a facilitated group.

SAFER CHURCHES REFRESHER

All ACC Credential holders, or those applying for a credential must update their Safer Churches training every three years.
This training is for those who have previously completed the induction workshop and includes updates to legislative requirements and best practice in Safer Churches ministry. This training can be done individually or as a facilitated group.

SAFER CHURCHES ESSENTIALS FOR VOLUNTEERS

This training is suitable for all volunteers and covers:

ACC Child Protection Policy and Safer Churches Guidelines team ministry,
Boundaries, codes of conduct and duty of care,
Identifying and responding to concerns about harm.

This training can be done individually or as a facilitated group. This training is not suitable for ACC Credential Holders, or those applying for a credential. Your church must be registered to access this course.

SAFER CHURCHES ESSENTIALS FOR VOLUNTEERS REFRESHER ONLINE

This training is for those who have previously completed the Essentials training and includes updates to legislative requirements and best practice in Safer Churches ministry.

This training can be done individually or as a facilitated group. Your church must be registered to access this course.

COURSE LINK

For questions regarding training or group options please email: etraining@safercommunities.net.au

PROFESSIONAL SUPERVISION

Professional Supervision (Pastoral) provides a safe, confidential space for pastors to discuss what’s happening in their ministry, with someone who is trained to provide this support. Supervision assists people to grow and develop both personally and professionally. It follows the Biblical principle of having partners in ministry, modelled by Jesus in Matthew 6:6, 7, 30-32, providing encouragement, accountability and time out to rest and reflect. It helps people to identify their core values and to understand more about themselves and why they respond or react the way they do.

Supervision helps people to thrive in ministry, to discover what they love to do, how to make good choices, have good boundaries and practice holistic self-care. Having Professional Supervisors that can assist pastors and leaders to work through ethical dilemmas and legal issues is so important in the times we are living in. With such a variety of complex situations that churches now face, providing high quality care and knowing how to access vital resources is imperative. Supervisors are trained to assist in ensuring best practice.

How do you find a supervisor, and how often do you recommend seeing them?

It is recommended that people see a supervisor once a month or at least every second month. This way you don’t only deal with crisis situations but you begin to build resilience and engage in skills development and transformational learning.

To find a Professional Supervisor click HERE.

For more information contact Ps Susan Marcuccio supervision@chaplaincyaustralia.com or contact the Pastors Health Team in your state.

Ps Susan Marcuccio is an Ordained ACC Minister, ACC Chaplaincy Australia National Supervision Director, a Professional Pastoral Supervisor Trainer, and Chair of Training Standards for Australasian Association of Supervision (AAOS).

REPORTABLE CONDUCT SCHEME

The Children’s Guardian Act captured all religious bodies into the Reportable Conduct Scheme in NSW from March 1st 2020. The Head of Entity (most often the Senior Pastor) of each church must understand their obligation to investigate all reportable allegations and complete all reporting requirements to the Office of the Children’s Guardian. Each Head of Entity must be registered with the Office of the Children’s Guardian. Additionally, it is important that all Pastors, Board members and church volunteers understand their obligations under this Act to report allegations of reportable conduct. For disclosures of sexual abuse, please contact the Police and consult with the Safer Churches National helpline.

WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECK

It is a requirement that anyone who has a direct role with a child, or holds a credential has a current Working with Children Check (WWCC) in NSW or Working with Vulnerable Persons (WWVP) in ACT. Churches must understand their obligations regarding obtaining, verifying and record keeping of these checks.

Working with vulnerable people

Working with children check

CHILD SAFE SCHEME

Under the Child Safe Scheme, all ACC churches in NSW are legally required to put into action the Child Safe Standards recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Organisations under the Child Safe Scheme must demonstrate their commitment to child safety by having child safe systems, policies and processes based on the Child Safe Standards. The Office of the Children’s Guardian has assessment tools, training and resources to assist you to ensure you are meeting these standards. Click HERE.

SAFER CHURCHES NATIONAL HELPLINE: 1800 070 511

LODGE A REPORT

ACC NSW ACT SAFER CHURCHES LEADER

Allyson Parker

Mail

Your Local Church

ACC local churches, as self-governing entities, bear the ultimate responsibility for implementing the ACC Safer Churches strategy in the church. The ACC Child Protection Policy has been reviewed and updated. The updated ACC Child Protection Policy was adopted at National Conference 2023. To assist ACC local churches and pastors with implementing the Safer Churches strategy, the tools and resources are available to download from our National website or here.

Pastoral and Family Resources

In keeping with Child Safe Standards 3, 6,and 10, ACC is committed to providing resources for Parents, Carers, Children and Young People as well as those who are ministering to families in any way. ACC has developed brochures with age appropriate language and information to explain our Child Protection Policy to children, young people and parents and carers. You can access these brochures in the Implementation Kit.

The following sites provide helpful information in regards to safety and access to support. As these are secular websites, they may include some content that is not consistent with ACC beliefs, so discretion may be required when using these sites.

Child Safe Standards media kit

'Organisations are encouraged to share messages about how they are implementing the Child Safe Standards. Use this media to let your community know how you're working to keep children and young people safe.'

Make A Complaint

The National Office for Child Safety also has information for children, parents and carers, and organisations to help them know what to do if they have a complaint. These are valuable tools to provide families and team to empower children and young people to speak up if they have been harmed or are at risk of harm: SPEAK UP OR MAKE A COMPLAINT.

Redress and Survivor Support

ACC recognises the enormous impact child sexual abuse has in a person’s life. For information and support go to:

For further resources to assist you with implementing your Safer Churches strategy please refer to:

ACC NSW ACT SAFER CHURCHES LEADER

Allyson Parker

Ph. 4736 3000