Religious sector community of practice holds first meeting
A child safe community of practice for the religious sector met for the first time on Monday.
With about 30,000 organisations falling under the Child Safe Scheme, NSW Children’s Guardian Steve Kinmond OAM said the new community of practice was part of his efforts to support their compliance with safeguarding laws and regulations.
‘It was a pleasure to welcome participants, online and in person, representing a diverse range of faiths,’ Mr Kinmond said.
At the meeting, Child Safe Officer Sean Kendall outlined the free resources provided by the Office of the Children’s Guardian.
Investigations Manager with the Office of the Children’s Guardian, Michelle White (pictured), outlined the religious sector’s obligations under the NSW Reportable Conduct Scheme.
Also presenting were:
- Dr Very Reverend David Ranson, Vicar General of Broken Bay Catholic Diocese
- Lachlan Bryant, Director of Safe Ministry at Anglican Archdiocese of Sydney
- Reverend James Oosterveen of the NSW Baptist Church.
These three presenters generously shared their child-safe journeys and the wisdom they have gained on the way.
Attending the meeting were more than 40 representatives from diverse faiths including Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Baha’i and International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) leaders, together with leaders from Christian denominations and other religious organisations, including Catholics, Anglicans, Uniting Church, Baptists, Presbyterians, Seventh Day Adventists, the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement, the Lutheran Church, the Salvation Army, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Coptic Orthodox Church, Hillsong Church, Churches of Christ, Australian Christian Churches, Quakers, Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Christian Community Churches of Australia, Divine Word Missionaries, Hunter Christian Church, the Ecumenical Council (which represents 19 religious entities), and the Islamic Council of NSW.
‘The community of practice has got off to a great start, with the next step being to create a working group to look at the gaps in knowledge and experience in the various faith communities and how these can best be addressed,’ Mr Kinmond said.
