Risk Management

The processes of reporting, screening, training and compliance all contribute to risk management.
There are some areas of risk that require extra attention:
Children’s Ministry
• All Children’s Ministry staff and volunteers must have Safe Church approval prior to
commencement of the role
• Children’s ministries will recognise and give effect to:

• opportunities of children to engage and participate at Scots’
• special needs of children
• the provision of a culturally safe environment
  • Children under 18 must be adequately supervised at all times
  • Children’s ministry permission/registration forms to be used and kept securely
  • Adequate leader to children ratios must be maintained
  • Records of attendance to be documented and kept
  • Toileting procedures to be adhered to
  • Safe Church Online and Smart Phone Usage Guidelines to be followed
  • First Aid kits clearly identified and maintained.
  • Leaders and volunteers to be able to implement and document medical management plans
  provided by parents
  • Accurate First Aid records to be kept
  • Any boundary breaches or concerns to be reported to Scots’ Church Reporting Officer/Senior
  Minister/Safe Church Unit.
  Congregational Camps
  • All leaders to undergo Safe Church Approval prior to camp
  • Adequate supervision and ratios to be maintained
  • First Aid management and documentation process to be organised and overviewed before
  camp
  • Camp records of attendance must be kept
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  Persons of Concern
  The church is an organisation that is required by law (Wrongs Amendment (Organisational Child
  Abuse) Act 2017), to make reasonable steps to minimise the risk of child abuse, perpetuated by
  organisational representatives i.e. we have to protect members of our church.
  All regular church attendees who fall under the definition of “Person of Concern” (see Appendix C)
  are required to have an appropriate risk management plan formulated with internal and external
  safeguarding and legal input.
  Risk management may include a Safety Agreement signed by church representatives and the
  Person of Concern.
  A Person of Concern may not hold any office or role within the church, paid or unpaid.
  Appropriate risk management allows a Person of Concern to be a member of a church
  community.

APPENDIX C: A Person of Concern
A ‘Person of Concern’ is a person who fits any of the following criteria:
• Has pleaded guilty to, been convicted of, or has admitted to a sexual criminal offence (including
stalking offences).
• Has been found to have sexually offended, arising through due diligence checks related to
recruitment (for example, through the application of the Safe Church Volunteer Approval
Process or a Negative Notice provided by the Department of Justice in response to a Working
With Children Check application).
• Is currently charged with a sexual offence.
• Is recognised as a “known substantial risk to children’s safety from sexual abuse” within the
definitions provided in the ‘Failure to Protect’ advice from the Victorian Department of Justice
relating to section 490 of the Victorian Crimes Act 1958.
• Has been the subject of an allegation of a sexual offence and this was not appropriately
investigated.
• Has been found to have received an adverse risk assessment arising from sexual misconduct.
• Deemed to be a risk to the safety of children and/or vulnerable adults because of an adverse
risk assessment relating to sexual misconduct or other abuse-related misconduct.
• Exhibits constant wandering across other peoples’ sexual boundaries.
Dr Rosemary Fethers
Scots’ Safe Church Reporting Officer 2026
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Persons of Concern
The church is an organisation that is required by law (Wrongs Amendment (Organisational Child
Abuse) Act 2017), to make reasonable steps to minimise the risk of child abuse, perpetuated by
organisational representatives i.e. we have to protect members of our church.
All regular church attendees who fall under the definition of “Person of Concern” (see below)
are required to have an appropriate risk management plan formulated with internal and external
safeguarding (Kooyoora) and legal input.
Risk management may include a Safety Agreement signed by church representatives and the
Person of Concern. Sessions are responsible for the risk management of Persons of Concern in
their congregations with help from Kooyoora and may include legal advice.
A Person of Concern may not hold any office or role within the church, paid or unpaid.
Appropriate risk management allows a Person of Concern to be a member of a church
community.
Person of Concern Definition
A ‘Person of Concern’ is a person who fits any of the following criteria:
• Has pleaded guilty to, been convicted of, or has admitted to a sexual criminal offence (including
stalking offences).
• Has been found to have sexually offended, arising through due diligence checks related to
recruitment (for example, through the application of the Safe Church Volunteer Approval
Process or a Negative Notice provided by the Department of Justice in response to a Working
With Children Check application).
• Is currently charged with a sexual offence.
• Is recognised as a “known substantial risk to children’s safety from sexual abuse” within the
definitions provided in the ‘Failure to Protect’ advice from the Victorian Department of Justice
relating to section 490 of the Victorian Crimes Act 1958.
• Has been the subject of an allegation of a sexual offence and this was not appropriately
investigated.
• Has been found to have received an adverse risk assessment arising from sexual misconduct.
• Deemed to be a risk to the safety of children and/or vulnerable adults because of an adverse
risk assessment relating to sexual misconduct or other abuse-related misconduct.
• Exhibits constant wandering across other peoples’ sexual boundaries.
ALL PERSONS OF CONCERN MUST BE REPORTED TO THE SAFE CHURCH UNIT
FACILITATOR (KOOYOORA) SO A RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN CAN BE FORMULATED.