A message from the Archdiocese of Sydney
Safeguarding and Child Protection – Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney (sydneycatholic.org)
Child sexual abuse is a crime. The appropriate people to deal with crimes are the police. If you, or anyone you know, have been abused, please contact the police. Alternatively, you can contact the Safeguarding and Ministerial Integrity Office at (02) 9390 5810 or [email protected]. You may also want to speak to your Parish Priest who will be able to provide support and guidance. The Archdiocese has a legal obligation to report crimes to the police.
Commitment Statement
The emotional, physical and spiritual safety, well-being and dignity of children is an integral part of the teachings and values of the Catholic Church. The Archdiocese and the Parish of Our Lady of Mt Carmel Mt Pritchard (OLMC) are wholly committed to ensuring the safety, well-being and dignity of all children, and acknowledges its important legal, moral and spiritual responsibility to create a safe and nurturing environment for those children.
The community has very clear expectations in matters relating to child protection and expects children will be protected from all forms of harm including sexual, physical and psychological harm, ill treatment and neglect.
The Archdiocese and OLMC support these expectations and strive to promote the safety and protection of children and other vulnerable persons in their care.
Key Principles
· The victims of sexual abuse are our first priority
· Preventing abuse and protecting people
· Sexual abuse is a crime which must be reported to police
· No protection of abusers and no cover-ups.
Overview of the Archdiocese’s Child Safeguarding Policy
Please click on the link below to view The Archdiocese of Sydney’s Child Safeguarding Policy
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Safeguarding and Ministerial Integrity Office
The Safeguarding and Ministerial Integrity Office was established in the Archdiocese of Sydney in November 2015. The role of the Safeguarding Office is to raise awareness regarding our collective responsibility to protect the safety, well-being and dignity of children, young people and vulnerable adults within the Archdiocese of Sydney and to respond swiftly and compassionately in circumstances in which children are harmed, or at risk of being harmed.
To this end, the Safeguarding Office has been developing and delivering training programs on a range of Safeguarding protocols and procedures that work together to protect children from harm.
Safeguarding Induction Training
All volunteers in the following Parish Ministry roles are required to attend/complete Safeguarding Children Induction and ongoing Refresher training.
Parish Secretaries
Youth Ministers, Workers or Leaders
Pastoral Associates1
Sacramental Coordinators1
Sacramental Group Leaders1
Catechists in State Schools
Children’s Liturgy Coordinators
Children’s Choir Ministry Leaders
Acolytes and Senior Altar Servers
Ministers of the Word/Readers/Lectors
Parish Collectors (AKA Wardens)
Eucharistic Ministers
Safeguarding training covers a wide range of themes, including what to do if a child discloses abuse, unexplained injuries, disability and neglect. It provides the skills and knowledge you need in order appropriately report the abuse or neglect.
The Safeguarding Office requires volunteers to do the following Online Training:
* Safeguarding Induction Training for parish volunteers
To complete the Online Induction Training you will need to first register by clicking on the link below.
Safeguarding Refresher Training
It is mandatory within the Archdiocese and a requirement in terms of meeting our obligations
under the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards (Standard 7), that every three years Volunteers
complete refresher Safeguarding Training. Online Safeguarding Refresher Training for volunteers is now available via “Zoom” or “Online”
Volunteers can register for the new Refresher Training via the link below.
(which is a different link from the other online training registrations) if they wish to complete training
online. The Refresher training is also available via Zoom, dates for the Zoom Refresher Training can be
accessed via the 2022 training timetable. Volunteers will simply need to register their attendance by
emailing [email protected]
Below are the links to the online SALT training registration page:
· Refresher Training for Volunteers: https://forms.gle/yLB21Ug718Wpnztx9
· Induction Training: https://forms.gle/84BttWwVpneZx7Kq9
OLMC will also conduct ‘Face to Face’ induction training for Parish volunteers that are unable to complete the ‘Online Induction’.
Dates and times for these sessions will be advertised in the Parish Weekly Bulletin (usually after “Ministry Sunday” is held in the parish each year.
Parish Safeguarding Support Officer
What is a PSSO?
A PSSO supports and assists the Parish Priest in fulfilling his role and responsibilities set out in the Archdiocese’s safeguarding and child protection policies and protocols.
The PSSO will assist with making our parish compliant and working with our volunteers and parishioners in providing a greater understanding of safeguarding and what that means for all in our parish community.
The Safeguarding & Ministerial Integrity Office works with PSSO so parishes of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney (CAS) become aware & compliant with NSW legislation.
Why does the Parish need a PSSO?
Next year the Catholic Professional Standards Limited (CPSL) will be auditing parishes and church entities throughout Australia. Audits can incur fines for the parish and CPSL will release public reports on each of the dioceses, religious institutes and other Catholic organisations it audits. These reports will indicate whether the leadership of that Church body has ensured that the Catholic Professionals Standards Limited are being met. CPSL can and will publish audit reports on their website which will indicate whether a particular Church Authority has failed an audit.
How do you Contact a PSSO at OLMC?
The parish has six volunteer PSSO’s. For information on who they are and how to contact them please call the Parish office during office hours on (02) 9610 1025.
Reporting Abuse
Child abuse is a criminal offence and the police are the appropriate authority to handle criminal investigations.
Sexual abuse has no place in the Church. The law requires serious crimes to be reported to the police and the policy of the Archdiocese is to report all allegations of sexual abuse to the police.
Police: If you have a complaint you can contact the NSW Police Child Protection and Sex Crimes Squad through your local police station or Crime Stoppers NSW on 1800 333 000. For all urgent matters regarding a child at imminent risk of significant harm please phone the Child Protection Helpline on 132 111 or 000.
More information can be found at www.police.nsw.gov.au or www.pcycnsw.org
