Safeguarding Checklist for Australian Sports Clubs

This isn't a topic anyone wants to read about over breakfast. But it's the most important policy your club will ever have.

A safeguarding failure doesn't just harm a child. It destroys the club. It ends volunteering careers. It tears through a community's trust in a way that takes years to rebuild - if it rebuilds at all. Every club president, every committee member, every coach standing on a sideline on a Saturday morning knows this at some level.

And yet most clubs still don't have a safeguarding policy.

Not because they don't care. Because they're run by volunteers who are already stretched thin, and safeguarding feels like something that belongs to bigger organisations with paid staff and compliance departments. It doesn't. It belongs to every club that works with children. There is no minimum size threshold. There is no exemption for being volunteer-run. If your club has junior members, this applies to you.

This article gives you the full checklist - what you need, why you need it, and where to find the templates so you're not starting from a blank page.

Why safeguarding matters for every club

The word "safeguarding" gets used so often in governance documents that it can start to feel abstract. So let's make it concrete.

Safeguarding is about preventing harm to children and young people in your club's care. That's the core of it. But it's not the whole picture. A safeguarding policy also protects your volunteers - your coaches, your team managers, your committee members - from false accusations. Without clear procedures, a misunderstanding can escalate in ways that damage everyone involved.

Here's what most volunteer committees don't realise until it's too late: if something goes wrong and there's no policy in place, the liability doesn't just sit with the club as an entity. It falls on individual committee members. Personally. The people who gave up their weekends to help run Saturday sport could find themselves personally named in legal proceedings because the club never put a two-page document together.

That sounds alarmist. It isn't. It's how incorporated associations law works in most Australian states.

There are practical consequences too. State sporting bodies are increasingly requiring safeguarding compliance as a condition of affiliation. No affiliation means your teams can't compete in sanctioned competitions, your members may lose access to insurance coverage, and your relationship with facilities providers gets complicated. And speaking of insurance - many policies won't cover incidents where no safeguarding policy existed. The insurer's position is straightforward: if you didn't take reasonable steps to prevent harm, why should they cover the consequences?

Geoff Wilson covers this well in his book on grassroots sports leadership. Good governance protects volunteers. Clear policies mean nobody has to improvise during the worst moment of their volunteering life. We reviewed Geoff's book in more detail here - it's worth reading for any committee member who wants to understand what governance looks like in practice, not just on paper.

The National Principles for Child Safe Organisations

In 2019, all Australian governments endorsed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. These ten principles give you a framework that works across every state and territory. If you build your safeguarding approach around them, you'll meet the baseline expectations regardless of which jurisdiction you're in.

The ten principles cover:

1. Child safety embedded in leadership, governance, and culture - not an afterthought or an appendix.
2. Children informed about their rights and involved in decisions affecting them - junior members should know who to talk to.
3. Families and communities informed and involved - parents should know your policy exists and where to find it.
4. Equity upheld and diverse needs respected - not every child faces the same risks.
5. People working with children are suitable and supported - screening, training, codes of conduct.
6. Complaints and concerns processes are child-focused - centred on the child's wellbeing, not the organisation's reputation.
7. Ongoing education and training - one-off training isn't enough.
8. Physical and online environments promote safety - change rooms, photography policies, social media contact between adults and juniors.
9. Regular review and improvement - annual at minimum.
10. Policies and procedures documented - written down, findable, and actually read.

These principles came out of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. They represent hard-won lessons from failures across institutions - churches, schools, sporting bodies, government agencies. They exist because organisations that thought "it won't happen here" were wrong.

You don't need to address all ten principles on day one. But you need to know they exist, and you need to be working towards all of them.

Working with Children Checks: state by state

Every state and territory in Australia requires adults who work with children - including volunteers - to hold a valid screening check. But the name, process, cost, and application method differ depending on where your club operates.

Here's the current landscape:

| State/Territory | Name of Check | Who Needs One | How to Apply | Cost for Volunteers | |---|---|---|---|---| | NSW | Working With Children Check (WWCC) | All adults in child-related work, including volunteers | Online via Service NSW, then verify ID at a Service NSW centre | Free for volunteers | | VIC | Working with Children Check | All adults in child-related work, including volunteers | Online via the Victorian Government, then verify ID at a participating Australia Post | Free for volunteers | | QLD | Blue Card | All adults in child-related work, including volunteers | Online via Blue Card Services | Free for volunteers | | SA | Working with Children Check (DCSI Screening) | All adults working or volunteering with children | Online via the DHS Screening Unit | Free for volunteers | | WA | Working with Children Check | All adults in child-related work, including volunteers | Online via the WA Government, then verify ID at a participating Australia Post | Free for volunteers | | TAS | Registration to Work with Vulnerable People | All adults working with children or vulnerable people | Online via Consumer, Building and Occupational Services | Free for volunteers | | NT | Ochre Card (Working with Children Clearance) | All adults in child-related work, including volunteers | Online via Safe NT | Free for volunteers | | ACT | Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) registration | All adults working with children or vulnerable people | Online via Access Canberra | Free for volunteers |

A word of caution. These details change. Processing times vary. Some states have introduced online renewal; others still require in-person verification. Always check your state or territory's current requirements on their official government website before relying on the table above.

And one thing that catches clubs out: a Working with Children Check from one state is not automatically valid in another. If your club operates near a state border - or if you send teams to competitions interstate - you may need to think about which checks your volunteers hold and which states they're valid in.

The safeguarding checklist

Here's what your club needs to have in place. This isn't aspirational. This is the minimum.

1. Appoint a Club Safeguarding Officer

A named person. Not "the committee." Not "the president handles it." A specific individual whose name and contact details are known to every coach, volunteer, and parent at the club. This person is the first point of contact for any safeguarding concern. They don't need to be a qualified social worker - they need to be someone who takes the responsibility seriously, knows the reporting procedures, and will follow them.

2. Adopt or write a Child Safety Policy

Don't start from scratch. Your state sporting body almost certainly has a template policy you can adopt or adapt. It will be written in language that your state's legislation recognises, and it will cover the areas your governing body expects. Download it, read it, customise it for your club's specific circumstances - the sports you offer, the ages of your junior members, the facilities you use - and adopt it formally at a committee meeting.

3. Ensure all adults working with children have current Working with Children Checks

Every coach. Every team manager. Every volunteer who has regular, unsupervised contact with junior members. No exceptions. "They've been with the club for twenty years" is not a substitute for a current screening check. Neither is "they're a parent." If the role involves contact with children, the check is required.

4. Maintain a register of all screening check numbers and expiry dates

You need to know - at any point - which of your volunteers hold a current check and when those checks expire. A spreadsheet works. A purpose-built system works better. What doesn't work is relying on memory or assuming everyone's check is still current because they got one three years ago.

5. Implement a code of conduct for adults working with children

This is separate from your club's general code of conduct. It covers specific behaviours: appropriate and inappropriate physical contact, one-on-one situations with juniors, communication with junior members via phone or social media, photography and image sharing, change room supervision. It should be signed by every coach and volunteer who works with your junior programs.

6. Train all coaches and volunteers on safeguarding basics

Free online safeguarding courses are available through Play by the Rules and through most state sporting bodies. The training doesn't take long - typically an hour or two - and it covers recognising warning signs, responding to disclosures, and understanding your reporting obligations. Every person working with your junior members should complete it. Annual refreshers are good practice.

7. Establish clear reporting procedures

If a child tells a coach they're being hurt - at the club or at home - what happens next? Your safeguarding policy needs to answer that question precisely. Who does the coach contact first? Your Club Safeguarding Officer. What does the officer do? They follow the reporting procedure, which includes contacting the relevant state child protection authority and, where appropriate, the police. What gets documented? Everything. When? Immediately.

This is the part that saves lives. And it's the part that falls apart if it only exists in someone's head.

8. Display safeguarding information visibly at your venue

A poster near the canteen or in the clubhouse. Contact details for your Safeguarding Officer. The phone number for your state's child protection reporting line. Making it visible signals to parents that you take it seriously. It also signals to anyone who might cause harm that the club is paying attention.

9. Review the policy annually

Safeguarding isn't a set-and-forget document. Legislation changes. Your club's activities change. New risks emerge. Set a date - the first committee meeting after the AGM works well - and review the policy. Check that contact details are current, that the Safeguarding Officer role is filled, that screening checks haven't expired, and that the policy still reflects what the club actually does.

10. Know your mandatory reporting obligations

In most Australian states and territories, certain people are mandatory reporters - meaning they are legally required to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the relevant authority. Who counts as a mandatory reporter varies by state. In some jurisdictions, anyone who works with children in an official capacity (including volunteers) is a mandatory reporter. In others, the obligation applies to specific professions. Your safeguarding training should cover this, but don't assume - check your state's legislation directly.

Where to find templates and training

You don't need to build this from nothing. These resources exist specifically for clubs like yours:

• [Play by the Rules](https://www.playbytherules.net.au) - Free online courses on child safeguarding, complaints handling, and member protection. Designed for volunteer sports administrators. Your first stop for training.
• Your state sporting body - Most have sport-specific safeguarding policies and templates. Contact your state body's governance team and ask what they provide. Many will give you a template policy, code of conduct, and reporting procedure you can adopt with minimal changes.
• [National Office for Child Safety](https://www.childsafety.gov.au) - The home of the National Principles. Includes implementation guides, self-assessment tools, and resources for organisations of all sizes.
• State child protection authorities - Each state and territory has an authority responsible for child protection. Their websites include reporting procedures, mandatory reporter guides, and information about Working with Children Checks.
• [Australian Sports Commission](https://www.ausport.gov.au/) - Resources on governance, integrity, and safeguarding for sporting organisations at all levels.

If you're unsure where to start, start with Play by the Rules. Complete the free safeguarding course yourself, then ask your committee to do the same. It takes about an hour.

How TidyHQ helps

We built TidyHQ for clubs like yours, and we understand that safeguarding compliance is only useful if it's manageable for volunteers who are already juggling a dozen other responsibilities.

You can store Working with Children Check numbers, Blue Card numbers, and other screening details directly against member and volunteer profiles. Set expiry date reminders so you're notified before a check lapses - not after. Keep your safeguarding policy, code of conduct, and reporting procedures in a central location that your entire committee can access, rather than buried in one person's email inbox. And when it's time for your annual review, your membership records make it straightforward to confirm which volunteers are current and which need to renew.

None of this replaces the policy itself. But it makes the ongoing administration of safeguarding compliance something a volunteer committee can actually maintain - month after month, season after season.

Frequently asked questions

Does my club need a safeguarding policy if we only have a few junior members?

Yes. There is no minimum number. If your club has one junior member, you need a safeguarding policy. The size of your junior program doesn't change the obligation - or the risk. A small club with three junior members still has coaches, still has change rooms, still has situations where adults and children interact. The policy can be proportionate to your size, but it needs to exist.

Who is a mandatory reporter in sport?

It depends on your state. In Queensland, mandatory reporting applies to doctors, nurses, teachers, and police - but not specifically to sports coaches. In the Northern Territory, every adult is a mandatory reporter. In Victoria, specific professional groups are mandatory reporters, and there's a separate "failure to disclose" offence that applies to any adult who believes a child has been sexually abused. The safest position: act as though everyone is a mandatory reporter. Train all your volunteers to report concerns, regardless of whether they're technically required to by law.

What happens if a volunteer's Working with Children Check expires?

They must stop working with children immediately until the check is renewed. This isn't discretionary. An expired check means the person is no longer cleared to work with children, and your club is no longer covered if something happens while that person is in a child-related role. Build expiry tracking into your volunteer management process so you catch renewals before they lapse - not after. Most states allow renewal applications to be submitted before the expiry date, so there's no reason for gaps if you plan ahead.

This isn't bureaucracy for its own sake. One policy, reviewed once a year, with a named person responsible. That's what stands between your club and the worst outcome. Get it in place. Then get back to running Saturday sport.

References

• National Office for Child Safety - National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and implementation guidance
• Australian Sports Commission - Safeguarding frameworks and child safety resources for sporting organisations
• Sport Integrity Australia - Integrity and safeguarding standards for Australian sport
• Play by the Rules - Child protection policies, reporting procedures, and training for clubs
• Volunteering Australia - Screening and safety guidelines for volunteer-involving organisations