New Child Safe laws for Victoria start on 1 January 2023, including stronger penalties for organisations that do not comply with the Child Safe Standards. These laws will apply to all Child Safe organisations, which includes all Victorian providers of disability services.  

The Child Wellbeing and Safety (Child Safe Standards Compliance and Enforcement) Amendment Act 2021 will give regulators more powers to assess and enforce compliance with the Child Safe Standards. 

Some of the key changes are: 

• new powers for officers to assess compliance with the new standards, including the ability to inspect organisations’ premises without notice. 
• new enforcement actions, including official warnings, court injunctions, enforceable undertakings, and the publication of details of an organisation’s non-compliance 
• the introduction of a range of criminal offences and increased maximum penalties for not complying with notices and directions from the Commission. 

The new powers are outlined on the Commissions website. The new laws also change which regulators can enforce the standards and the sectors they regulate. The disability sector and other social services providers, including providers of housing services, family violence and sexual assault services, and out of home care services, will now be regulated by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.  

More information on the new regulators is on the Commission website.  

What organisations need to do 

Organisations should continue implementing the 11 standards that came into effect on 1 July 2022. NDS recently developed a video for providers, in partnership with the Commission for Children and Young People, to guide them through the new Child Safe Standards. It can be found on our recently updated Child Safe webpage.  

The Commission for Children and Young People has also developed guidance materials.