December update from the Children's Guardian
Closing out my first year as Children’s Guardian in NSW, my warmest thanks go to the thousands of organisations and people who work in the best interests of children and young people in our state.
I’m looking forward to building on the connections we’ve made this year, working into the future.
Earlier this month, I hosted another roundtable on responding to historical reportable conduct allegations.
As I set out in my September update, historical claims can be a challenging area – from an evidentiary, procedural fairness, victim support, and subject worker fairness perspective.
These meetings have included about 40 stakeholders from government and non-government education, the Department of Communities and Justice, non-government out-of-home care providers, religious organisations, and union representatives.
We’ve been sharing our experiences on what works best to make investigations both sensitive and fair to all parties.
From this experience we are putting together a set of guidelines for organisations under the reportable conduct scheme to help them deal with historical claims more consistently and effectively.
Finally, as many of us get closer to a well-earned break, it’s important that we remember that – while this time of year can be a great opportunity to connect and re-connect with family and friends – it can also be tricky to navigate for many of us.
So, as we close out the year together, let’s treat this as a time for kindness and empathy, as well as for gifts, celebrations, and a safe and happy holiday.
Steve Kinmond
Children's Guardian
