The Victorian government has introduced some changes to the vaccination requirements for education facilities under the COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination (Specified Facilities) Order 2022 (Order).

Mandating boosters

Staff in education facilities will soon need to have received a ‘booster’ dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in order to be permitted to attend their workplace for the purpose of performing work (unless they hold a valid exception under the Order).

The due date for their booster shot depends on the date that a staff member became fully vaccinated. In order to meet the booster requirement, staff will need to have received their booster dose before:

• 25 February 2022, if the person was fully vaccinated on or before 25 October 2021; or
• 15 March 2022, if the person was fully vaccinated after 25 October 2021.

If a staff member has not provided the education facility with evidence of their booster shot on or before their booster due date, they will not be permitted to enter, or remain on, the premises of the education facility after their booster due date.

A new temporary exception: recent COVID-19 infection

The Order also provides a new temporary exception to the vaccination requirement if a staff member has tested positive for COVID-19 and completed their self-isolation period in the previous four months.
There are three categories under this exception.

Category 1: Diagnosed by PCR Test

Under this category, a staff member who was diagnosed with COVID-19 by way of a positive PCR test is eligible for a temporary exception to the vaccination requirement for up to four months from the end of their self-isolation period.

Category 2: Positive rapid antigen test + isolation period ended on or before 4 February 2022

Under Category 2, a staff member is eligible for a temporary exception if they have:

• received a positive result from a COVID-19 rapid antigen test;
• completed their self-isolation period on or prior to 4 February 2022;
• completed their self-isolation period within the last four calendar months;
• notified the Victorian Department of Health of their positive result from the COVID-19 rapid antigen test; and
• provided their employer with a written attestation stating they were unable to access a COVID-19 PCR test during their self-isolation period.

Category 3: Positive rapid antigen test + isolation period ended on or after 5 February 2022

To be eligible for an exception under Category 3, a staff member must have:

• received a positive result from a COVID-19 rapid antigen test;
• completed their self-isolation period on or after 5 February 2022;
• completed their self-isolation period within the last four calendar months; and
• received a positive result from a COVID-19 PCR test undertaken during their self-isolation period.

If a staff member is eligible for one of the three categories for a temporary exception, they will not be required to provide a COVID-19 digital certificate issued by Services Victoria (which is required for a medical exception under the Order).

Once four months have passed following the end of the staff member’s self-isolation period, the staff member will no longer be permitted to enter, or remain on, the premises of the education facility for the purposes of work unless they have met the vaccination requirement (including the booster requirement, if the relevant booster due date referred to above has passed).

How we can help

Need a hand navigating the never-ending COVID-19 updates? As education and employment law specialists, Moores can assist your school with implementing or updating your COVID-19 vaccination policy to ensure that it complies with the most recent health orders.

We can also assist you with finding your way through tricky situations with your staff members, including non-compliance with the vaccination requirement and discussing alternative arrangements.

Get in touch with Cecelia or Melissa below so we can help with getting you where you want to be!

Contact us

Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.

Subscribe to our email updates and receive our articles directly in your inbox.

The requirements of schools and school boarding premises to treat all students equally are embedded in two key clauses in the new Ministerial Order 1359 (MO 1359). These clauses of the MO 1359 align with the new 2022 Child Safe Standards (2022 CSS), but these standards apply directly to schools and school boarding premises.

Diversity and equity requirements are broader (clause 9, 2022 CSS 5)

MO 870 requires school governing authorities to implement a “principle of inclusion”, meaning school governing authorities must “take account” of the diversity of all children. Instead, MO 1359 requires schools pay “particular attention” to the needs of diverse students. This change in language reflects increasing obligations for schools to take proactive action to ensure diversity and equity is upheld for all students.

The new MO 1359 also more broadly defines diverse students as:

• students who are unable to live at home;
• international students; and
• lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex and queer (LGBTI+) students.

The above adds to the previous definitions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, cultural and linguistically diverse, students with disabilities and vulnerable students.

The explanatory note in MO 1359 provides guidance for how a school can identity vulnerable children and students. For example, a student may be deemed vulnerable by a government agency or external family violence service. Information may be shared between these organisations under the Child Information Sharing Scheme.

Creating a culturally sensitive environment in your school for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (clause 5, 2022 CSS 1)

The new Ministerial Order 1359 requires schools and school boarding premises to create a culturally sensitive environment and implement specific considerations for any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Schools and boarding premises must specifically ensure their policies respect and value the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children, young people and students (clause 5).

It includes:

• Actively encouraging and supporting a student’s ability to express their culture and enjoy their cultural rights.
• Embedding strategies to acknowledge and appreciate the strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and understand its importance to the wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and students.
• Adopt measures to ensure racism is identified, confronted and not tolerated.
• Ensure there are appropriate consequences if an incident of racism is identified.
• Actively support and facilitate participation and inclusion by Aboriginal children and students and their families at the school or boarding premises.
• Ensure that all school policies, when read together, create a culturally safe and inclusive environment and meet the needs of Aboriginal children and students and their families.

While MO 1359 focuses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, school policies should be broad enough to cater for incidents of racism against any race.

This requirement applies to all schools and boarding premises, even those without any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students currently attending.

How we can help

Moores can provide training for staff and help amend existing policies to ensure relevant changes are made to comply with VRQA requirements.

Contact us

Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.

Subscribe to our email updates and receive our articles directly in your inbox.

Even though sexual violence is common, it is one of the most under-reported crimes.

On 12 November 2021, the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) released its report entitled “Improving the Response of the Justice System to Sexual Offences” (the Report). The VLRC has produced a comprehensive reform package to improve the way the justice system responds to sexual offences. Multiple recommendations were made in the report, many of which should be considered by organisations working with children and vulnerable people. Click here for an overview of the Report’s recommendations.

As part of the terms of reference, the VLRC was requested to look at barriers to reporting sexual offences, and recommendations to improve the justice system’s response to sexual offending. The VLRC found that approximately 87% of people who experience sexual abuse do not report to police, and only half disclose the abuse at all (usually to family or friends).

The Report also found some communities experience sexual violence at much higher rates than others. These communities included Aboriginal women and women with disabilities. The above-mentioned higher rates are connected with broad structures of discrimination and marginalisation.

The VLRC found that approximately 87% of people who experience sexual abuse do not report to police, and only half of those who have experienced sexual abuse disclose the abuse at all.

Unfortunately, this is not new information. The Final Report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Royal Commission) contained concerning statistics regarding disclosure of child sexual abuse. The Royal Commission found that many victim-survivors did not disclose child sexual abuse until many years after the abuse occurred (on average, it was reported that it took victim-survivors that spoke to the Royal Commission 23.9 years to report), and that some victim-survivors do not disclose at all.

The Royal Commission also found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children with disabilities and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds were more likely to encounter circumstances that increased their risk of abuse in institutions, reduced their ability to disclose or report abuse and, if they did disclose or report, reduced their chances of receiving an adequate response.

This article focuses on what organisations can do to better promote a safe environment, encourage victim-survivors to disclose at an early stage, and why this is important.

The VLRC findings

In order to make organisations safer, we first need to understand what prevents victim-survivors from disclosing abuse. The VLRC found the reasons people do not report sexual abuse are complex. These reasons are examined in detail in Chapter 7 of the Report. Key barriers to reporting include:

• an inability to identify that sexual abuse has actually occurred, especially in relation to online and technology-related offending;
• feelings of shame, embarrassment and shock;
• feelings of guilt and blame;
• social stereotypes of “real rape” and the social misconceptions about what sexual violence looks like;
• concern about family and friends responses to disclosure including the fear of not being believed;
• responses of others including mainstream services, doctors and carers;
• lack of information and support regarding reporting and the justice system;
• lack of trust in the justice system and its responses;
• fear relating to the consequences of reporting, including the fear of child protection involvement or loss of immigration visa;
• fear of not being believed especially in circumstances where the perpetrator of the abuse is in a position of authority;
• concerns about the justice system outcomes and processes; and
• barriers to accessing justice.

In our professional experience, when working with adult survivors of historical child sexual abuse, the most common comment they make is “I thought I wouldn’t be believed”. Often this is because the perpetrator has told them this, after a period of grooming both the victim-survivor and the people around them, including the organisation. Survivors have also told us they felt the organisation wouldn’t take action and would focus on protecting the perpetrator over the victim. Historically, and even now, some organisations attempt to protect their reputation before ensuring the organisation is safe and survivors are properly supported. Some organisations have vastly improved their child safeguarding function. Some organisations are still evolving.

Why is it important that organisations take action?

We know now, more than ever, how important it is for victim-survivors to disclose abuse at an early stage. Once victim-survivors disclose, they can be provided with the support they need to help them heal. Disclosure also ensures that perpetrators can be held accountable for their actions and prevents the perpetrator from abusing others. Early disclosure is also likely to aid in a criminal conviction as witness memory will be more accurate and a forensic disadvantage from delay is unlikely to be an issue in the prosecution. By ensuring there are proper processes in place to deal with the abuse, it can also deter other potential perpetrators from abusing children within the organisation.

How can your organisation support victim-survivors to report abuse?

There are a number of ways organisations can and should reduce barriers to reporting. These include:

• complying with the relevant sector standards including the Victorian Child Safe Standards in Victoria, and the equivalent child safe standards and National Principles in other states and territories, the National Standards for Disability Services, and the Aged Care Quality Standards;
• educating children and adults who support children and vulnerable people about what constitutes abuse and inappropriate behaviour. Organisations can do this through training. The training should provide clear examples of what constitutes abuse or inappropriate behaviour and make it abundantly clear that abuse of any form is not acceptable within the organisation and will not be tolerated;
• educating adults to recognise the signs of harm in children and vulnerable people. It is not enough to rely on the victim reporting abuse. Adults and support people need to be able to identify signs of harm and trauma in children so that appropriate enquiries and support can be provided, and suspicious behaviour reported;
• informing children, vulnerable people and their families that if they report abuse, their report will be taken seriously, properly dealt with, and they will not receive negative treatment for reporting;
• having clear policies and procedures outlining the pathway for reporting abuse and inappropriate behaviour, and encouraging not only the victim of the abuse but anyone who suspects abuse to speak up;
• keeping accurate and timely records of any reports or information that is received to ensure disclosures can be properly investigated and reported to police and regulatory authorities (including, as required, the CCYP, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission); and
• conducting independent investigations using external investigators to ensure investigations are free from bias and conducted in a legal and forensic manner, by a person who is trauma-informed so the victim is supported through the process.

The findings and recommendations of the Report have the capacity to assist organisations in preventing sexual offending and improving organisational responses to sexual offending to make the organisation safe.

How Moores can help

The Moores’ Child Safety & Safeguarding team delivers seminars and training to staff, students and participants in the disability sector to educate them on important topics such as consent, respectful relationships, harassment and image-based abuse.

Moores can assist organisations in reviewing, auditing and improving complaints policies and procedures in order to reduce barriers to reporting. Moores can also assist in responding to complaints or disclosures of sexual offending and harassment to ensure a trauma-focused response which is procedurally fair, including by conducting independent investigations.

Contact us

Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.

Subscribe to our email updates and receive our articles directly in your inbox.

The requirements of schools and school boarding premises to create strategies to promote child empowerment and participation are not new, they were required under clause 13 of MO 870. However, the new Ministerial Order 1359 (MO 1359) goes further and specifies broader and more extensive obligations in clause 7.

The clauses of the MO 1359 align with the new 2022 Child Safe Standards (2022 CSS), but apply these standards directly to schools and school boarding premises. Clause 7.1 of MO 1359 restates CSS 3: schools and school boarding premises must ensure that children, young people and students are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

A specific example of the increased specificity of how schools must meet CSS 3 can be found in MO 1359 clause 7.5, which says: school governing authorities must develop curriculum planning documents or other documentation that detail the strategies and actions the school will take to implement 2022 CSS 3.

To assist you in understanding the new requirements regarding empowerment of students we have created a comparison table:

MO 870 Clause 13

MO 1359 Clause 7

Strategies to promote child empowerment and participation (1) The school governing authority must develop strategies to deliver appropriate education about: a) standards of behaviour for students attending the school; b) healthy and respectful relationships (including sexuality); c) resilience; and d) child abuse awareness and prevention. (2) The school governing authority must promote the child safety standards required by this Order in ways that are readily accessible, easy to understand, and user-friendly to children.

Child and student empowerment The school governing authority or school boarding premises governing authority must, at a minimum, ensure: a) children and students are informed about all of their rights, including to safety, information and participation. b) the importance of friendships is recognised and support from peers is encouraged, to help children and students feel safe and be less isolated. c) staff and volunteers are attuned to signs of harm and facilitate child-friendly ways for children and students to express their views, participate in decision-making and raise their concerns. d) schools and school boarding premises have strategies in place to develop a culture that facilitates participation and is responsive to the input of children and students. e) schools and school boarding premises provide opportunities for children and students to participate and are responsive to their contributions to strengthen confidence and engagement (clause 7.2). The school governing authority and school boarding premises governing authority (where relevant) must ensure students are offered access to sexual abuse prevention programs and to relevant related information in an age-appropriate way (clause 7.3 & 7.4). The school governing authority or school boarding premises governing authority must develop curriculum planning documents or other documentation that details the strategies and actions the school or school boarding premises will take to implement (clause 7.5).

Some of the new changes include a specific obligation on schools and school boarding premises to provide age-appropriate sexual abuse prevention programs and the development of curriculum planning documents to implement the new standards.

How we can help

Moores has previously provided advice on the changes between the old child safety standards and the new ones, to be introduced on 1 July 2022. You can read that advice here.

Moores is able to assist you with training and child empowerment policies, to embed a culture of child safety at your school and school boarding premises.

Contact us

Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.

Subscribe to our email updates and receive our articles directly in your inbox.

A major change of the new Ministerial Order 1359 (MO 1359) – to come into operation on 1 July 2022 and replace Ministerial Order 870 – is the updated definition of “school environment”.

The definition of the “school environment” is critical to understand the extent of your school’s obligations to meet the Child Safe Standards. From 1 July 2022, the definition of “school environment” will change. MO 1359 includes greater detail as to the extent of the environment, following a pattern of expanding application of the child safe standards, far beyond traditional school hours. We have compared the old and new definition below.

MO 870

MO 1359

School environment means any physical or virtual place made available or authorised by the school governing authority for use by a child during or outside school hours, including: (a) a campus of the school; (b) online school environments (including email and intranet systems); and (c) other locations provided by the school for a child’s use (including, without limitation locations used for: – school camps; – sporting events; – excursions; – competitions; and – other events).

School environment means any of the following physical, online or virtual places, used during or outside school hours: (a) a campus of the school; (b) online or virtual school environments made available or authorised by the school governing authority for use by a child or student (including email, intranet systems, software applications, collaboration tools, and online services); and (c) Other locations provided by the school or through a third-party provider for a child or student to use including, but not limited to, locations used for: – camps; – approved homestay accommodation; – delivery of education and training such as registered training organisations, TAFEs, non-school senior secondary providers or another school; or – sporting events, excursions, competitions or other events.

School environment now includes RTOs and TAFEs

The expansion of the definition of “school environment” to encompass locations of the delivery of education and training by registered training organisations, TAFEs and non-school senior secondary providers means the school’s duty of care, and all child safety obligations under the Child Safe Standards, applies in these contexts.

This means when students attend VET and VCAL subjects off campus, for example, at a local TAFE or RTO, the school cannot delegate its child safety responsibilities. Practically, this means schools may need to start to work with TAFEs and RTOs to manage child safety of their students, and implement risk controls and risk treatments.

Online Environments

The additional detail regarding online and virtual locations reflects the increased focus of the Child Safe Standards on child safety in physical and online environments. Moores has published information about online safety and the 2022 Child Safe Standards. Look out for more resources to help you school implement the necessary changes for MO 1359. Expressions of interest for an upcoming webinar can be made here.

How we can help

We can help you implement necessary controls and governance structures to manage the risk to child safety of your students when students attend TAFEs and RTOs.

Look out for subsequent additions to our MO 1359 series of articles summarising key changes to be aware of.

Contact us

Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.

Subscribe to our email updates and receive our articles directly in your inbox.

The new Ministerial Order 1359 (MO 1359), which implements the new Child Safe Standards for registered schools in Victoria, has been announced. This is to replace Ministerial Order 870.

MO 1359 was published on 10 February 2022, and will come into operation on 1 July 2022, as do the new Child Safe Standards.

We have created a suite of MO 1359 articles to assist you in navigating the new regulatory landscape. Look out in coming days for several more articles.

What does this mean for your school?

The Ministerial Order is a primary reference for child safety in schools, meaning these new provisions require consideration by your governing body, i.e., the school Board, to ensure your school adopts the policies, procedures and practices necessary to comply.

It means a governance refresh and a child safety rejuvenation.

The full title of MO 1359 is “Implementing the Child Safe Standards – Managing the Risk of Child Abuse in Schools and School Boarding Premises”. It is available here.

What are the key changes?

Definitions

• Streamlining of definitions to align with other regulatory instruments, such as the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017 and the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005.
• Inclusion of definitions specific to school boarding premises. This builds on increasing regulation and focus on boarding premises, due to increased child safety risks as identified by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
• Major changes to definition of school environment.
• Definition of child abuse removed from MO 1359, to refer to the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005.
• Definition of child-connected work has been expanded to include school boarding premises. An additional definition of child-related work has been included, and has the same meaning as in the Worker Screening Act 2020.

Detail

• The new Child Safe Standards are a lot more detailed. The MO 1359 includes more prescriptive management of child safe organisations.
• There are also explanatory notes to assist with compliance.

Annual child safety training (clause 12.2)

• The minimum requirements of what must be included in your annual child safety training are more prescriptive than Ministerial Order 870. For example, your annual child safety training must, from 1 July 2022, include information for staff about “a clear procedure or set of procedures for responding to complaints or concerns relating to child abuse”.
• Training requirements are prescribed for volunteers, as well as staff and the governing body of your school.

MO 1359 implement the new 2022 Child Safe Standards

The table below shows how the new MO 1359 implements the 2022 Chid Safe Standards, to come into operation on 1 July 2022.

MO 1359	New 2022 CSS	What the Standard is about
Clause 5	Standard 1	Culturally safe environments
Clause 6	Standard 2	Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in leadership, governance and culture
Clause 7	Standard 3	Child and student empowerment
Clause 8	Standard 4	Family engagement
Clause 9	Standard 5	Diversity and equity
Clause 10	Standard 6	Suitable staff and volunteers
Clause 11	Standard 7	Complaints processes
Clause 12	Standard 8	Child safety knowledge, skills and awareness
Clause 13	Standard 9	Child safety in physical and online environments
Clause 14	Standard 10	Review of child safety practices
Clause 15	Standard 11	Implementation of child safety practices

One significant change with the new standards is a standard specific to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and younger people.

What will stay the same?

There continues to be a focus of regulatory obligations on the school governing authority. It is the non-delegable obligation of the school governing authority to take measures to comply with the 2022 Child Safe Standards.

The definition of school governing authority remains the same, and includes the:

• proprietor and those authorised to act on behalf of the proprietor;
• governing body; or
• principal.

MO 1359 also imposes these obligations on a school boarding premises governing authority. The expanded scope to include school boarding premises and their governing authorities is to ensure the safety of all students.

How we can help

As education and child safety law specialists, Moores can assist your school with policy and governance review, child safety audits, child safety training and training for your Board.

Register your expression of interest for our MO 1359 webinar here, and look out for our MO 1359 series of articles.

Contact us

Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.

Subscribe to our email updates and receive our articles directly in your inbox.

Today, 8 February 2022, marks Safer Internet Day, promoted by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner and 170 online safety regulatory bodies around the world to encourage safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones. It is an opportunity for all stakeholders to join together to make the internet a safer and better place for all, and especially for children and young people.

From cyberbullying to social networking to digital identity, each year Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and current concerns.

Safer Internet Day website

How to get involved

Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity to engage with children associated with your organisation about safety risks in online environments, and how they can protect themselves from, for example, grooming and cyberbullying.

The eSafety Commissioner has published an eSafety Toolkit for Schools that provides resources to assist schools to prepare, engage, educate and respond to online safety. There are also classroom resources for early years, primary and secondary students.

You could focus on a specific threat in the online environment that is particularly relevant to your organisation, such as cyberbullying, inappropriate content, or unwanted contact and grooming. Discussing scenarios of possible online threats with children in skill-building conversations empowers them to know how to respond if the scenario eventuated.

How you can respond to an online incident

How you should respond to an online incident will depend on the severity of the incident, and your organisation’s Child Safety Policy and reporting procedures.

Some key features of how to respond include:

• If a child is at risk of immediate harm, call 000.
• Reassure the child they have done the right thing by reporting the incident to an adult. The best interests of the child concerned should guide how you respond.
• Consider applicable state and territory laws and possible need or mandatory reporting – details of these should be included in your Child Safe Policy or Reporting Procedures.
• Involve the student in decisions.
• Engage with parents and carers.
• Focus on restoring relationships.
• Record the incident, response and actions taken.
• For cases of image-based abuse, grooming and cyberbullying, you can lodge a complaint with the eSafety Commissioner, making sure the student has given their authorisation.
• Monitor whether the behaviour has stopped.

The eSafety Commissioner provides more detail about responding to online incidents here. We’ve also written in more detail about the eSafety Commissioner’s power here.

How we can help

In addition to Child Safety audits and review of your policies, procedures and codes of conduct, Moores helps organisations to respond to online incidents and develop strategies to support your work with children online. We can also assist with investigations and processes when responding to online safety incidents.

Contact us

Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.

Subscribe to our email updates and receive our articles directly in your inbox.

At a time when the risk of online abuse has never seemed higher, organisations are being encouraged to prepare for Safer Internet Day, and promote online safety for children.

Safer Internet Day, on 8 February 2022, brings together organisations from 170 countries around the world to promote online safety, particularly among children and young people.

This Safer Internet Day, the Australian eSafety Commissioner is calling on everyone to play it safe and fair online.

eSafety Commissioner Safer Internet Day website

With the focus on online safety for children and young people, the eSafety Commissioner has provided many resources and tools to support educators this Safer Internet Day. For example, there are surveys for different aged students to assess their understanding of online safety, and ideas for activities where students can take the lead in online safety – reflecting the central theme of empowerment in the 2022 Child Safe Standards in Victoria.

The eSafety Commissioner’s powers were also recently expanded to tackle child sex abuse and cyber bullying.

Empowerment

Victoria’s new Child Safe Standard 9, which will take effect on 1 July 2022, requires organisations working with children to teach digital citizenship and digital and media literacy to support critical thinking and civic engagement. Organisations that work with children are also encouraged to engage with children to identify risks and get their input on how the organisation can improve its online environment.

In addition, there is a new positive obligation on organisations, such as schools and youth programs, to ensure all environments promote child safety and wellbeing. This increases the standard from mitigating risk. All environments includes the digital environment.

Balancing safety and empowerment

Staff and volunteers at organisations that work with children must identify and mitigate risks in online and physical environments without compromising a child’s right to privacy, access to information, social connections and learning opportunities.

Teaching online safety techniques can empower children and young people to protect themselves online – and play it safe – while reducing the need for adults to closely monitor online behaviour. This ensures children have both their right to safety, and their rights to privacy and access to information, maintained.

How we can help

Our child safety and education teams can offer training and provide tailored internal resources to empower staff to understand risks facing children online, meet the new 2022 Child Safe Standards and in turn teach online safety to children in their care.

Contact us

Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.

Subscribe to our email updates and receive our articles directly in your inbox.

Social media giants, online bullies and sex offenders have been put on notice, with Australia’s eSafety commissioner granted greater powers to police the internet.

The Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), which passed parliament in 2021, officially came into effect on 23 January 2022. Reforms include a world first scheme to take down cyber abuse and better protect children and adults from online bullying.

The eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has also been given authority to order online platforms to remove the worst of the worst content. This includes child sexual abuse material, irrespective of where it is hosted. In addition, the laws modify a scheme already in place for reporting the online bullying of children, broadening who they apply to beyond social media platforms, and shortening the removal timeframe to 24 hours from 48 hours.

The main changes

The Cyberbullying Scheme

The Cyberbullying Scheme allows individuals to make a complaint about cyberbullying material that targets a child (under 18). A report must be made to the relevant online service provider before a complaint is made.

Cyberbullying material means online communication to or about a child that is seriously threatening, seriously intimidating, seriously harassing or seriously humiliating.

It can include posts, comments, emails, messages, memes, images and videos.

eSafety can issue a notice to the online service provider requiring removal of the cyberbullying material. Where providers fail to comply with notices, eSafety can take enforcement action such as injunctive action or seek civil penalties (fines).

For child safe organisations, the Cyberbullying Scheme means you can refer individuals (child or their parents, as appropriate) to the eSafety Commissioner to make a complaint if cyberbullying occurs.

Image-Based Abuse Scheme

The changes to the Image-Based Abuse Scheme give eSafety the power to issue notices for the removal of intimate images or videos shared online, without the consent of the person shown.

There is a general prohibition on image-based abuse – sharing or threatening to share intimate images or videos online without consent – which means any person may make a complaint about breaches of this prohibition. For child safe organisations, this means you could yourselves make a complaint, should image-based abuse come to light in your organisation. In these circumstances, we would also encourage organisations to consider the rights of the child to be involved in decisions that affect them, and refer organisations to the Child Safe Standards.

Basic Online Safety Expectations

The Basic Online Safety Expectations put into law what the Australian Government now expects from online service providers. eSafety is, of course, the main priority of the Basic Online Safety Expectations, however, the tech industry is also encouraged to be more transparent about their safety features, policies and practices.

Expectations of online service providers include:

• taking reasonable steps to be safe for their users;
• minimising bullying, abuse and other harmful activity and content; and
• having clear and easy-to-follow ways for people to lodge complaints about unacceptable use.

For child safe organisations, this means:

• When you are designing or implementing online tools as part of your service offering, you should consider these basic expectations, and how you meet them.
• When dealing with third parties providing online services, you should enquire as to how the potential contractor meets these expectations.

How we can help

Still want to know more about online safety and the eSafety Commissioner? Look out for information on these topics from Moores in February.

If you would like any more information about what the changes to the Online Safety Act 2021 mean for your organisation or steps you can take to protect children from online harm, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Contact us

Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.

Subscribe to our email updates and receive our articles directly in your inbox.

On 23 January 2022, as part of the Victorian Government’s back to school plan, it was announced that education workers – school and early childhood staff – will be required to receive a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by 25 February 2022, in order to keep working in education settings.

Who does the booster deadline apply to?

The booster deadline applies to ‘education workers’, which has been defined (as per the previous CHO direction) to include:

• teaching and administrative staff at schools and early childhood centres;
• casual relief teachers, Breakfast Club suppliers, IT personnel, NDIS providers and auditors (but does not include delivery personnel);
• staff of the Department of Education and Training who attend an education facility (such as allied health personnel or Authorised Officers);
• staff of any other entity who attends an education facility;
• volunteers that attend the facility and work in close proximity to children, students or staff (including parent helpers); and
• students on placements at an education facility.

Parents and guardians are not part of the booster deadline – however, parents who volunteer at school do need to meet this booster deadline. For example, parents who are readers in the classroom, or who assist in the canteen, need to be boosted by 25 February 2022.

What if staff aren’t yet eligible for a third dose?

The time between second and third dose has been decreased to three months. Staff are eligible if their second dose was more than three months ago.

If a staff member is not eligible before 25 February 2022, they must receive a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine within 3 months and 2 weeks of receiving a second dose.

Why?

The Chief Health Officer has advised a third dose will help ensure children and staff are protected, most notably individuals – both vulnerable students and staff – with significant underlying health conditions. The booster mandate may also help reduce the risk of community transmission and outbreaks in schools.

At the end of Term 4 2021, more than 99.7 per cent of school staff were double-vaccinated.

Students getting vaccinated: More than 29 per cent of children aged 5-11 have now had one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Staffing shortages: education workers are ‘critical’

Education workers have been deemed critical, meaning when an education worker is a household contact they do not need to isolate. Instead, household contacts can voluntarily continue working if they are asymptomatic and do a daily rapid antigen test.

Education workers are only required to quarantine when they themselves return a positive result, and should isolate if they display symptoms.

More detail on the implementation of the plan for schools, including surveillance testing using rapid antigen tests and mask-wearing policies, is likely be released next week by state and territory governments.

How we can help

Moores can assist employers respond to objections to government vaccination mandates or stand-alone policies. Moores can also advise on discrimination and privacy issues.

Moores can assist your school, including to:

• prepare a staff policy about COVID-19 vaccination requirements;
• understand its privacy obligation with respect to collection, use and storage of vaccination information;
• develop its procedures for dealing with medical exceptions and other grounds for exceptions made by staff; and
• prepare for dealing with staff non-compliance with the vaccination requirements.

Contact us

Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.

Subscribe to our email updates and receive our articles directly in your inbox