Safeguarding Statement of Commitment

Our commitment to safeguarding

All young people have a right to feel safe, and to be safe at all times. YLab has zero tolerance for the abuse of young people. We are committed to treating all young people with dignity and respect, and actively promote and prioritise the right of every young person to feel physically and emotionally safe in all that we do.

We recognise that particular consideration needs to be paid to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.

We also acknowledge the particular needs of young people arising from their cultural and linguistic background, sexuality, gender diversity, disability, or as a result of domestic and family violence or other trauma.

All YLab staff, board members, volunteers and contractors are responsible for the care and protection of young people who participate in our organisation and for reporting information about harm and abuse.

Our Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy states our commitment to your safety and wellbeing and tells you how we will make sure you are safer, look after your wellbeing and help you feel more empowered at YLab. This applies to all staff and volunteers.

Our commitment to your safety and wellbeing: 

We will:

• Welcome you and treat you with respect 

• Not make assumptions about you

• Protect you from harm and abuse

We will:

• Look out for risks to your safety and wellbeing and do what we can to reduce them

• Support you to speak up and talk about what is important to you

• Always listen, take you seriously and follow up if you speak up about harm or abuse (there are also times when we must report harm or abuse to the Police or Child Protection) 

We will:

• Learn about, respect and support your culture and cultural background

• Support your connection with your family and community

• Talk with and work together with you, your family or community

We will:

• Work to understand the challenges you face and support you to participate in ways that work for you

• Communicate with you in ways that help you to understand and join in

• Keep learning and improving how we work with you and help us do our best for you 

We encourage you to tell us about any concerns you have about your safety and wellbeing, including any harm or abuse by our staff members or volunteers.

Please contact us if:

• You do not feel safe with our staff or volunteers

• One or more of our staff members has harmed or abused you 

• You have seen someone else be harmed or abused by our staff

• You know about any other kind of poor behaviour by our staff

We will listen to everything you tell us. We will take you seriously and take appropriate action.

YLab reserves the right to review, amend and/or update this statement at any time.