Understanding Child Safe Standards: Essential Guidelines for Clubs and Community Organisations

If your club, association or community organisation works mainly with children, child safety can no longer sit in the background as a policy saved somewhere on a shared drive.

In Queensland, organisations that provide services or spaces specifically for children are now expected to implement the 10 Child Safe Standards. This includes many sporting clubs, activity providers, coaching services, dance schools, recreation programs, youth groups and other child-focused community organisations.

For many volunteer-led clubs, this can feel overwhelming. Most committees are already managing registrations, uniforms, training, fundraising, complaints, parents, volunteers and day-to-day operations. But the Child Safe Standards are not about creating unnecessary paperwork. They are about making sure child safety is built into the way the organisation actually runs.

What are the Child Safe Standards?

The Child Safe Standards are designed to help organisations create environments where children are safe, respected, listened to and protected from harm. The Queensland Family and Child Commission explains that the Standards focus on areas such as leadership, governance, staff and volunteer capability, complaints management, policies, procedures and safe physical and online environments.

In plain English, this means clubs and community organisations need to be able to show that they have thought about:

• who is working with children;

• how children and parents can raise concerns;

• how complaints are handled;

• how volunteers and coaches are trained;

• how child safety risks are managed;

• how online communication, photos and social media are controlled;

• how the organisation checks whether its child safety arrangements are actually working.

Why does this matter for clubs?

Many clubs are child-focused but not set up like schools or large organisations. They may rely heavily on volunteers, casual coaches, parent helpers or committee members who change from year to year.

That is exactly why simple systems matter.

A child safe club should not depend on one good president, one experienced coach or one parent who “knows what to do”. The club should have clear, practical arrangements that continue even when volunteers change.

This might include:

• a clear Child Safety Commitment Statement;

• a Code of Conduct for coaches, volunteers, parents and participants;

• a simple reporting pathway for concerns;

• guidance for one-on-one interactions, transport, change rooms and closed training environments;

• photo and social media expectations;

• basic volunteer onboarding;

• child-friendly ways for children to speak up;

• regular committee oversight of child safety risks.

Does this only apply to big organisations?

No. The Standards can apply to small organisations too.

Queensland’s Child Safe Standards apply where organisations provide services specifically for children, or facilities specifically for use by children who are supervised by the organisation. The QFCC also lists clubs and associations, including sporting clubs, cultural and recreational programs, coaching, tutoring and private teaching services as examples of services or activities provided primarily for children.

That means the size of the organisation is not the main issue. The key question is whether children are a central part of what the organisation does.

What about sport and recreation clubs?

For sport and recreation organisations, the Queensland Government has stated that organisations delivering activities primarily for children, such as sporting clubs, associations and swim schools, needed to commence compliance with the Child Safe Standards from 1 April 2026.

For clubs that run overnight camps or excursions, there may be earlier or additional obligations. Sport and Recreation Queensland notes that sport and recreation organisations providing camps or excursions with overnight stays needed to commence compliance with the Child Safe Standards from 1 January 2026, and some may also fall under the Reportable Conduct Scheme from 1 July 2026.

Not every club will fall under the Reportable Conduct Scheme, but many child-focused clubs will still need to embed the Child Safe Standards.

What does “embedding” the Standards mean?

Embedding does not mean downloading a policy and forgetting about it.

It means child safety is visible in the club’s everyday decisions, communication and culture.

For example:

• A club may have a Code of Conduct, but are coaches actually briefed on it?

• A club may say children can raise concerns, but do children know who to speak to?

• A club may require Blue Cards, but does it also check boundaries, supervision, communication and behaviour expectations?

• A club may have a complaints process, but would a parent or young person know how to use it?

• A club may post photos online, but does it have consent and clear rules around images of children?

These are the kinds of practical gaps that often appear when organisations start looking closely at their child safety arrangements.

Where should clubs start?

A good starting point is a simple health check.

Clubs and community organisations can begin by asking:

1. Do we have a clear child safety commitment?

2. Do we have a Code of Conduct that applies to adults and children?

3. Do children and parents know how to raise a concern?

4. Do coaches and volunteers know what to do if they receive a disclosure or observe concerning behaviour?

5. Do we have clear expectations for online communication and photos?

6. Do we consider child safety when planning trips, camps, competitions or events?

7. Do we check whether our systems are actually being followed?

The aim is not perfection on day one. The aim is to show genuine progress, practical implementation and ongoing improvement. Sport and Recreation Queensland has noted that commencing compliance means showing progress toward incorporating the Standards into policies, practices and procedures, and that the Standards are part of a continuous improvement journey.

How OnPoint360 can help

OnPoint360 supports child-focused organisations to understand and implement child safety requirements in a practical way.

We work with clubs, sporting groups, activity providers and community organisations to review what is already in place, identify gaps and provide clear, manageable recommendations.

Our support can include:

• Child Safe Club Health Checks;

• policy and document reviews;

• child safety commitment statements;

• reporting pathways;

• Codes of Conduct;

• volunteer and coach guidance;

• risk reviews for training, events, travel and overnight activities;

• practical action plans for committees.

Child safety does not need to be complicated, but it does need to be intentional.

For clubs and community organisations, the best place to start is by asking one simple question:

If a child, parent, coach or volunteer had a concern tomorrow, would everyone know what to do?