The aim is to ensure that every organisation providing services for children is a safe place where abuse is neither tolerated nor can happen, where children's rights are understood and respected and where children are protected from harm.

However, policies and procedures alone cannot enough to protect children; what is required is a commitment from all who work with children along with strong leadership to support staff.

The standards provide a framework that staff use to reflect on their specific work context and develop ways they can maintain a culture where children's rights and interests are prioritised.

Standard 1: Child safety is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture. An organisational commitment to child safety is reflected in the way the organisation operates from day to day, and how risks and issues are managed. Leadership is reflected in personal behaviour, putting children first, putting a high priority on staff training and education, and always trying to improve.

Standard 2: Children participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously. This reflects the commitment to children's agency required in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Listening to children, and teaching children the skills to speak about their concerns create a culture where safety is more likely.

Standard 3: Families and communities are informed and involved. The risk of abuse increases with increasing lack of organisational transparency. Families have primary responsibility for their children and ought to share in decisions affecting their children.

Standard 4: Equity is upheld and diverse needs are taken into account. Organisations must provide a culturally safe, child-friendly environment for children. Some children are more vulnerable to abuse than others and these children need to receive the support they need.

Standard 5: People working with children are suitable and supported. Recruitment, induction and ongoing training ensure that the right people are employed in an organisation. Ongoing supervision of staff provides an additional safeguard. In NSW the Working with Children check is the first step in screening staff.

Standard 6: Processes to respond to complaints of child abuse (or other concerns) are child-focused. Children and families need to know to whom they can speak if they want to disclose concerns. The initial organisational must focus on protecting children whilst a prompt, fair and thorough investigation occurs. Family and community are supported throughout the process. Organisational reputation must not take priority over children's safety.

Standard 7: Staff are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children safe, through continual education and training. There is no typical profile for an abuse perpetrator but indicators of concern include being alone with a child when there is no professional reason for being so, spending time with a child outside of the work environment, sharing sexual stories and/or inappropriate images with a child or offering gifts, benefits and/or favouritism.

Standard 8: Physical and online environments minimise the opportunity for abuse or other kinds of harm to occur. Organisations offer a balance between children's privacy and visibility. Opportunities for abuse arise in unsupervised and secluded spaces. Online environments offer increased opportunities for perpetrators to isolate children and children may not be aware of the risks they face when they interact with others. Education around appropriate behaviour both online and in the physical environment help.

Standard 9: Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is continuously reviewed and improved. As with any indicator of quality, constant reflection and review help identify strengths and weaknesses.

Standard 10: Policies and procedures document how the organisation is child safe. In our modern world, doing the right thing is not enough, we have to demonstrate we are doing the right thing