Whether your child is taking private piano lessons or art classes in school holidays, performing in a choir or acting in a play, they have the right to be safe.
Wherever children and young are participating or working in the arts, adults have obligations under the law to keep your child safe.
In some cases, this means that you might need to take action if you think someone else’s child is at risk or has been harmed.
What you can expect of creative organisations
Creative organisations and businesses can be as big as an orchestra or ballet school, or as small as a single instructor teaching from their home studio.
Regardless of their size, you can expect that:
- They will keep your child safe.
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You will be involved in decisions about your child — but with some limits. If the organisation thinks your child can make a sound decision without your involvement, particularly if they are older teens, they may not involve you. They should only do this if:
- they think it is in your child’s best interests and
- your child understands the decision and its consequences.
For example, if your child wants to decide for themselves:
- to use a particular dressing room that aligns with their preferred gender
- to be part of a performance that has themes that other people might be uncomfortable with.
- You will be asked for consent before your children are photographed or recorded, transported or taken on overnight stays.
- You will be told if there is an incident or emergency.
- Your child will be appropriately supervised.
- Any adults, including workers and volunteers, who engage with your child will have been screened (e.g. they have a valid Working With Children Check, Blue Card or equivalent).
You can also read our other recommended Dos and Don’ts for organisations and adults working with children and young people.
Your rights as a parent, guardian or carer
You have the right to:
- Ask questions about how the organisation is keeping kids safe.
- Ask for more information.
- Make a complaint if something goes wrong.
Your responsibilities as a parent, guardian or carer
You have a responsibility to:
- Do your part to keep children and young people safe in the arts.
- Treat arts workers and volunteers and other families, children and young people with courtesy and respect.
- Support and encourage your child’s development, including setting reasonable expectations about their participation
- Support your child to balance their other commitments such as study.
- Make sure your child is on time and prepared with everything they need for their classes or rehearsals.
- Respect reasonable decisions made by your arts organisation about your involvement in your child’s work or participation. This includes if they ask you to not attend rehearsals or if they tell you your child is not ready for a particular activity or role.
- Call out any inappropriate behaviour you see from other adults, and make it clear to your child that this is not ok. For example, if you see or hear an adult within the organisation messaging students on social media, or if a teacher is being critical of a child in an aggressive or hostile way.
- Ask questions and raise concerns with the organisation on your child’s behalf if something feels wrong or unsafe.
You can also:
- Ask if you can help out and volunteer. Many arts organisations have limited staff. Extra help and support can make creative environments safer. Familiarise yourself with the organisation’s child safety documents. Offer to get a volunteer Working with Children Check, even if they don’t ask you to.
Things you can do to keep your child safe
Ask questions
When your kid joins an arts organisation, whether they are working or taking part, being informed is a good step in making sure they will be safe.
Not all of them will be relevant to every organisation, but they are a good starting point for the things you should be thinking about.
A big part of this is knowing that the organisation has thought about child safety and taken steps to make sure your child is safe.
You can also talk to other families about the organisation to find out what their experiences have been like.
| Ask them: | Ask yourself: |
|---|---|
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Does the organisation have a child safety policy, procedure or code of conduct? If they do, you can ask for a copy. If they don’t, how else are they showing their commitment to child safety? For example, have people in the organisation had specific training, or has the organisation given information about child safety to people working in the organisation. |
If they don’t have these, are you comfortable with their reason why not? For example, they may be a very small business, such as an individual private music teacher. If they do have these but won’t share a copy, why not? Are you comfortable with this? |
| How and when will they communicate with you? For example, will there be regular updates, or will they only communicate with you if there is a problem or issue? | Are you comfortable with this? |
| How will they deal with unexpected situations? For example, if you are running late to pick up your child? |
Are you comfortable with this? If they don’t know, are you ok with not knowing what would happen in an unexpected situation? |
| What are they doing to keep your child safe and supported? For example, how will they manage stress and pressure when your child performs, enters a competition or takes an exam? How are they keeping the art studio environment safe from fumes or dangerous equipment? |
Are you comfortable with the strategies they have in place? If they aren’t doing anything, why not? Are you comfortable with this? |
| How do they approach online communication? For example, do they have rules for how adults communicate with children on social media? |
Are you comfortable with this?
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Have they asked for your consent before photographing or recording your child? How do they plan to use and store photos and recordings? |
If they aren’t planning to ask for your consent, why not? Are you comfortable with this? If they don’t have a plan for safely storing images or recordings, are you comfortable with this? |
| Will they ask for your consent before transporting your child? | If not, why not? Are you comfortable with this? |
| Will they ask for your consent before taking your child on an overtime stay? | If not, why not? Are you comfortable with this? |
| How can you make a complaint (if you need to) and who do you speak to if you are worried about something? |
Are you comfortable with the contact details and the steps they tell you to follow? If they don’t have contact details or a process, why not? Are you comfortable with this? |
Check in with your child
It’s important to regularly check in with your child about their safety. You can’t be with them all the time and there may be things happening in their lives that you won’t know about unless you ask. Some questions that you can ask them:
- Do you like going to [music lessons, acting class etc]
- Do you feel happy, comfortable and safe when you are there?
- What is your favourite part about [music lessons, acting class etc]?
- Is there anything you don’t like?
- Do the adults there speak to you nicely and encourage you?
- Do adults talk to you about safety (for example, how to use equipment safely)?
- Have people talked to you about what behaviours are ok (for example being kind to everyone) and not ok (for example bullying, keeping our hands to ourselves)?
- Do you feel safe and comfortable around all of the adults at [organisation]?
- Have you ever felt unsafe, uncomfortable or scared?
- Do adults ask what they can do to help you feel safe and have fun?
- Do adults listen to you when you speak?
- Who are the safe people that you can talk to if you feel scared, uncomfortable or unsafe?
It’s important to regularly check in with your child about their safety. You can’t be with them all the time and there may be things happening in their lives that you won’t know about unless you ask. Some questions that you can ask them:
- Do you like going to [music lessons, acting class etc]? Why or why not?
- Do you feel safe, respected and comfortable when you are there?
- Is there anything you don’t like about going to [music lessons, acting class etc]?
- Do adults speak to you calmly and respectfully? Do they encourage you in your art form?
- Do adults talk to you about safety? For example, how to safely use equipment or stage rigging?
- Has anyone at [the organisation] talked to you about appropriate and inappropriate behaviours? For example, bullying, shouting, inappropriate physical touch.
- Do you feel like all adults behave appropriately around you?
- Is there anyone who you are uncomfortable being around?
- Have you ever felt uncomfortable or unsafe?
- Do adults listen when you speak? Do you feel like you have a voice and can share your opinions and ideas?
- Do adults ask for your feedback?
- Do you know what to do and who to talk to if something goes wrong or if you feel unsafe?
Keep learning:
What to do if you have a concern or a complaint
If a child is at serious or immediate risk of child abuse or risk of harm, contact the police immediately — call 000.
If there has been a crime — call your local police on 131 444.
If you are not sure — it’s still OK to call the police. They can help you with what to do next.
Raise it with the organisation
Raising concerns and complaints can feel uncomfortable. There are different ways to approach the organisation, so choose what feels right. Raising safety concerns is vital to keeping kids safe.
- Check back over any information the organisation gave you when your child started. There may be contact details or steps to follow.
- If not, you can report it to any adult in the organisation who you trust. This be an instructor, someone in the office, or the person in charge of the organisation.
- You can also raise the issue directly with the person the concern relates to — if you think it can be resolved that way, and you don’t think there is a safety risk for your child. This may be an option if your child is working with a private instructor or in small creative businesses.
You don’t have to follow an organisation’s complaints process — even if they have told you to:
- If the process isn’t safe for you or your child — E.g. your complaint or concern involves the person involved in the reporting process, or you don’t trust the person you are meant to report to. You can tell another adult who you trust in the organisation.
- If your child is in danger or there has been a crime — You can call the police straight away without telling the organisation first.
Tips for raising issues with creative organisations
- Think about the outcome you want. For example, do you think the solution is better supervision? Perhaps you would like the organisation to communicate better to you and your child. Or maybe you want your child moved to a different group and away from contact with certain people. Share your suggestions with the organisation, and be open to theirs.
- Keep notes of any conversations you have, and copies of any emails or messages. These might be important if you have to take things further.
- Remember — An organisation that wants to keep kids safe will welcome complaints and concerns. It helps them know about and fix problems and keep children and young people safe.
In practice:
No follow up by the organisation after an incident
Your child, Fern, has a part in a semi-professional theatre production. You arrive at the end of a rehearsal one day to collect Fern and learn that they have had a seizure caused by strobe lighting used during the rehearsal.
You take Fern to your family doctor, and you are relieved to learn that they are OK.
However, over the following days and weeks, you realise that the theatre company has never followed up with you. You are not sure if anyone in the production team ever logged an incident report, or if anything is being done to make sure Fern is kept safe from it happening again.
You arrive at the next rehearsal early so you can raise your concern directly with the rehearsal director. Mindful that the rehearsal is about to get underway, you agree that strobe lighting won’t be used in during this rehearsal, and you agree to talk on the phone the following afternoon to work together on any adjustments that can and should be put in place. As part of the conversation the following afternoon, you also ask the director to make sure you’re contacted if anything like this happens again, rather than finding out about when you pick your child up.
Photography without consent
On the drive home from dance class, your child Archie grumbles to you about how the dance school manager keeps taking photos of the students. Apparently, Archie says, it’s so the manager can see how they’re progressing, but you can tell that Archie is uncomfortable.
You don’t recall giving the dance school to photograph Archie, so when you get home you check the enrolment forms – and you’re right, you never gave consent.
The enrolment paperwork does include a complaints process. Any complaints are to be lodged with the dance school manager.
Archie is adamant that they don’t want you to raise it with the manager, given that manager is the person who is taking the photos.
You and Archie talk about whether there is someone else at the dance school that you could raise it with. The office manager is one option.
You also talk about whether you want to make a voluntary report to a child safety regulator is something you want to do.
Both of these options are open to you. You and Archie choose the one that is right for you.
Report to police or a child protection agency or a regulator
Not all situations will require you to make a formal external report. But some might.
Risk of harm from abuse
You can make a voluntary report to regulators if you think:
- a child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, significant harm as a result of physical or sexual abuse, and
- a child's parents have not protected, or are unlikely to protect, the child from harm of that type.
Learn more about reporting child safety concerns.
Sexual abuse and grooming
All adults have obligations to report sexual abuse and grooming of a child under 16 to police.
Learn more about reporting child safety concerns.
Cyberbullying and image-based abuse
The eSafety Commissioner has information about how to deal with and report cyberbullying and image-based abuse.
Learn more about online safety.
Bullying, harassment or discrimination
If your child is being bullied, or has been harassed or discriminated against, and you haven’t been able to resolve the issue directly with the organisation, there are places you can go to get help.
Learn more about where to get help with unacceptable workplace behaviour.
Reportable conduct
Organisations that are, or that work closely with, schools, camp providers, religious bodies or accommodation providers may be covered by a Reportable Conduct Scheme. They must report workers (including employees, volunteers and contractors) for certain kinds of conduct.
You don’t have to, but you can raise a concern with the regulator in your state or territory if you become aware of any reportable conduct.
Learn more about reporting child safety concerns.
Talk to your child about what happened
It’s important to talk to your child about what’s been happening.
- If they are still at the organisation — ask them about any changes that have been made and how issues are being addressed.
- If they left the organisation — explain to them why leaving was important. You could say that the behaviour they experienced was not OK, and talk about what behaviours they should expect from adults. This will help you when you check in with them in the future, so you can ensure they are feeling safe in any new places.
If they were exposed to abuse or harm — make sure they get the right support. You are an important support for your child, but it can help to find external, professional support.
As a starting point, they can talk to:
- Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 — a free and confidential 24/7 phone and online chat counselling service for kids, teens and young people (aged 5 to 25). They can also make referrals to other services.
- headspace — free one-on-one support for young people aged 15–25, online and by phone.
- school — their school may have a wellbeing coordinator or school counsellor. The principal or a trusted teacher may also be good to talk to.
For parents of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander kids
- 13YARN on 13 92 76 — a national 24/7 helpline for First Nations people, including children and young people, who are going through a tough time and feel like having a yarn. The support person on the other end will always be First Nations too.
- WellMob – wellbeing resources online for First Nations people.
For parents of d/Deaf or disabled kids
- You can reach out to the Kids Helpline and headspace too. They may not have specialised knowledge or experience, but they will still be able to provide some support and recommend other services if you need.
- Beyond Blue have resources for living with a disability, including personal stories, statistics and common phases when learning about a new physical disability.
Find support for yourself
Supporting your kids through difficult events and issues can be hard. If you are finding it challenging, you don’t have to go it alone. Get help if you need it.
You can contact the free Kids Parentline support service to get information and advice and to help you with strategies. There is one in every state and territory.
There is also:
- Disability Services Australia and Scope — Resources in New South Wales for employment, therapy, housing, social and community participation, accessing NDIS and events.
- The Beyond Blue Forums — Where people share their experiences with a supportive online community and members provide support and advice for one another.
- The Beyond Blue support service — Available on 1300 22 4636, email and online chat 24/7, 3pm to midnight.
- Medicare’s mental health phone line on 1800 595 212 — Free advice and guidance to the right services and support for you.
- Medicare’s mental health check-in resources — Including understanding your emotions, skills you can use to reset, and looking after your wellbeing over the long-term.
Learn more about where to get mental health and wellbeing support.
Keep learning:
Child safe organisations: Guide for parents and carers (PDF)
Australian Human Rights Commission
Learn more