At St John's all children have the right to feel safe, participate in parish life and be happy. If YOU feel unsafe (this may be any form of ‘hurt’ including physically or emotionally) in the parish community you can:

● Speak to a member of the Child Safety Team:
Manuela Brambilla or Andrew Buchanan
9401 6366 or 0402 330 128
● Speak to our Prish Priest:
Fr Dispin  0413 683 153
Code of Conduct Explanation for Children
Code of Conduct Explanation for Young People
Rights and Responsibilities for children

The Catholic Church in Australia has taken a number of decisive steps in the prevention and fight against child sexual abuse with an emphasis on concrete actions, prevention, education and care for victims and survivors.

This summary outlines the Church's progress at a national level between 1987 and 2019, including the publication of major events and its interaction with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

In August 2018, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Catholic Religious Australia provided the Church’s official response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, accepting more than 98 per cent of the recommendations that related to the Church.

St John's holds the care, safetyand wellbeing of children
as a fundamental responsability.
In this section we provide links and information relating
to our commitmentas a parish to be
 a safe place for all.

A note of appreciation from your Safeguarding Committee

This Sunday, 12 September, the Catholic Church in Australia marks Safeguarding Sunday, on which we pray for those who have been abused, their families and supporters. We recognise and apologise for the harm done by priests, religious and lay people in Church settings. We recommit to practices that support survivors, and make the Catholic Church and its ministries the safest possible place for children and people at risk.

St John’s Safeguarding Committee, established to promote the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, would like to thank our fellow parishioners for your support in the important work of implementing the CAM Safeguarding Framework in our Parish.

This work is ongoing, as we strive to meet our legal and moral obligations, to ensure the safest and most positive environment possible for our children, young people, and the vulnerable of our parish community.

Many of you will have seen some of the initiatives that we have already put in place, including:

- visitor sign-in on entry through the Parish Office.

-  inductions for contractors/service providers/ hirers of our facilities

-  registration of our parish volunteers

-  communication of Safeguarding information via our Website, Newsletter, and       notice boards.
 
There is still more to be done.

Our thanks in particular to our many group leaders and volunteers, who do such valuable work around our Parish. Your assistance with the important task of having all of our volunteers registered, with Code of Conduct signed off,  and Working with Children Checks in place, is not only appreciated, it is a key step forward for our Parish.

To the young and more vulnerable of our faith community, our aim has always been that you will feel happy, secure, and loved at your Parish of St Johns ( & St James ) – Mitcham.
 

Andrew Buchanan Safeguarding Committee Officer

St John's SAFEGUARDING POLICY - This document sets out our policy on all aspects of protection of children, including Working With Children Checks for volunteers, and reporting any allegations of abuse or issues of concern.

Our COMMITMENT STATEMENT 

St John’s Parish holds the care, safety and wellbeing of children as a fundamental responsibility of the Church. This commitment is drawn from, and inherent to, the teaching and mission of Jesus Christ, with love, justice and the dignity of each human person at the heart of the Gospel. A culture of safety within the Church ensures that children can actively and fully participate in the life of the Church and realise their potential in a faith community.

• We are committed to upholding the safety and dignity of each child and young person and ensuring that they are able to grow and develop in a caring and supportive environment in our Church.
• We are committed to creating a child safe culture across the Archdiocese that safeguards children and young people from all forms of abuse.
• We are committed to zero tolerance of all forms child abuse and discrimination, and will always act to safeguard children and young people and report suspected abuse promptly to the appropriate authorities.
• We are committed to ensuring that all persons who have, or may be expected to have, contact with children and young people acknowledge their responsibility to safeguard children and young people from abuse and discrimination.

Our CODE OF CONDUCT - All volunteers, staff and clergy are being asked to sign this each year
 

Follow this link for the Framework on ‘Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Persons’ of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, of which we are part. 
https://cam.org.au/safeguarding-children-young-people-and-vulnerable-persons/

If a child or adult is in immediate danger you should call 000, and any crime should be reported to Victoria Police on 000.
Anyone who believes that a criminal offence has been committed against a child or young person should contact Victoria Police on tel 131 444 or report online –www.onlinereporting.police.vic.gov.au .     

Any concerns about risks to children and young people, or any allegations of abuse or unacceptable conduct, should be made to the Professional Standards Unit of the Archdiocese of Melbourne – psu@cam.org.au, tel 9926 5621. 

(See https://cam.org.au/safeguarding-children-young-people-and-vulnerable-persons/ for further information about the Archdiocese

A Child Safety Team has been established and has completed the formation required by the Archdiocese. Click here to read the document regardiing the Parish, agency and entity safeguarding responsibilities. 
This is the first point of contact for reporting any concerns and any questions parishioners may have regarding Child Safety.  The Team consists of:

Andrew Buchanan - Officer

Fr Dispin John - Parish Priest

Manuela Brambilla - Parish Office

The Committee members can be contacted through the Parish Office number 9401 6366 or by email at mitcham@cam.org.au.

If you volunteer for any of our Parish Ministries or Groups you will need a Working with Children Check (WWCC) Card and to sign the Code of Conduct Form. Click links below if you have not completed these

WWCC Link

Code of Conduct Form to be signed

If you already have a card, login in to "Mycheck", click "change my details", and then click "add an organisation".

If you do not have a WWCC card, click "Apply for a Check".

In both cases follow the prompts and add details as follows:

St John the Evangelist Parish
494 Whitehorse Road
MITCHAM  VIC  3132
03 9401 6366
Under the field Child-Related Work, choose "64-Religious Organisation".

Could you please provide the Parish Office with your WWCC details so we can complete and update our records.

If you don't have access to the internet please call either the Parish Office on 9401 6366 or the "Working With Children Check" on 1300 652 879.