Mercy Health is committed to ensuring the safety of all children accessing our services and we are also committed to meeting our compliance obligations. Our policy means Mercy Health will be better able to prevent child abuse, require reporting of any abuse that has occurred, and improve responses to any allegations of child abuse.
The Mercy Health Child Safety Policy applies to all Mercy Health employees, contractors and volunteers.
Our commitment to child safety
Mercy Health holds a strong commitment to child safety, based on the following organisational principles:
- zero tolerance of child abuse and neglect
- listening to the voice of children
- development and ongoing review of policies and procedures to protect children from abuse and neglect
- a commitment to take all allegations of abuse and neglect against children seriously and to respond to them consistently and in line with Mercy Health’s child safe policies and procedures.
- a recognition of the need to continually promote cultural safety and provide a safe environment for children of Aboriginal and culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and children with a disability.
Child Safe Standards
At Mercy Health, we are committed to creating environments where every child and young person feels safe, valued and protected. Across all Australian states in which we operate, we uphold the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, which provide a consistent, nation‑wide framework for safeguarding children and preventing harm.
While many of our services are designed for older people, children may still be present in homes, residential care settings or community environments. Because of this, we apply the Child Safe Standards with the same diligence as organisations whose primary role is to support children. These standards emphasise strong leadership, child‑focused practices, safe physical and online environments, and ongoing staff training.
By embedding these principles into everything we do, we ensure that Mercy Health remains a trusted, child‑safe organisation—one where safety and wellbeing are everyone’s responsibility, every day.
The NSW Child Safe Scheme, introduced under the Children’s Guardian Act 2019. sets out legal requirements for organisations working with children in New South Wales. The NSW Child safe standards are as follows:
- Embed child safety in governance, leadership, and culture.
- Involve children and young people in decisions that affect them.
- Engage families and communities as partners in safety.
- Promote diversity and inclusion across all programs.
- Ensure all workers and volunteers are screened, supervised, and trained.
- Maintain accessible, child-focused complaint and reporting systems.
- Keep physical and online environments safe.
- Provide regular training and ongoing staff development.
- Review and improve child safety practices continually.
- Document and communicate clear child safety policies and procedures.
We also welcome feedback from children who have accessed our services.
National Catholic Safeguarding Standards
Our safeguarding commitment to children and vulnerable people
Mercy Health is committed to keeping everyone safe. This means:
- We listen to the voice of children and vulnerable people.
- We have policies and procedures to protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse and neglect.
- We do not tolerate abuse or neglect.
- We take allegations of abuse and neglect seriously and respond effectively.
- We respect all cultures and promote a safe environment for children and adults who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
- We provide a safe environment for children and adults with a disability.
National Catholic Safeguarding Standards
Mercy Health is required to comply with the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards (NCSS)- Edition 2 2022, which aligns with key national initiatives including the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
The NCSS provide a framework for Catholic organisations to foster a culture of safety and care for children and vulnerable adults. The NCSS standards are:
- Committed leadership, governance and culture
- Children and adults are safe, informed and participate
- Partnering with families, carers and communities
- Equity is promoted and diversity is respected
- Robust human resource management
- Effective complaints management
- Ongoing education and training
- Safe physical and online environments
- Continuous improvement
- Policies and procedures support the safety of children and adults
Commitment to safeguarding
Mercy Health’s commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable people is captured in key policies and procedures including:
- Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable People Policy
- Code of Conduct Policy
- Child Safety Policy
- Protection of Children Policy ad Procedures
- Elder Abuse Management Procedure
- Feedback Policy
Additional resources
- National Catholic Safeguarding Standards
- National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
- National Office for Child Safety
- Languages other than English: Information about child safety is available in other languages from the Commission for Children and Young people.
Contact details
Concerns with Safeguarding within Mercy Health can be escalated to the Safeguarding Coordinator [email protected]
For more information on Feedback please refer to the Legal and policy – information page