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Safeguarding & Professional Standards

NCSS Commitment Badge 350
The Carmelites of Australia and Timor-Leste are committed to the protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults from all forms of abuse and mistreatment.

We are committed to safeguarding all people in our care, particularly children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Our Commitment

The Carmelites of Australia and Timor-Leste, committed to living in allegiance to Jesus Christ,
being pure in heart and stout in conscience and unswerving in the service of the Master (Carmelite Rule)
reach out to people in pastoral service. We are committed to making all our places safe and protected
spaces for all people, especially children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Our Policies & Procedures

Since 2017 we have been working with the Australian Childhood Foundation to develop policies, protocols and responses which promote a culture and a practice of providing a safe environment for children, young people and vulnerable adults in our pastoral care.

These Policies and Procedures were formally adopted at the 2019 Provincial Chapter and are mandatory throughout the Province for Carmelites and the employees and volunteers who work with us in our ministries.

These Policies and Procedures include a Code of Conduct for Carmelites, employees and volunteers, reporting procedures as well as recruitment and employment standards so that only suitable people work with us in our ministries. We are committed to ongoing education and training in recognising abuse, responding with justice and compassion to allegations and to direct intervention when abuse is suspected.

National Redress Scheme

In September 2019 the Carmelites were admitted to the National Redress Scheme. The National Redress Scheme provides acknowledgement and support to people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse.

For more information on the National Redress Scheme, visit www.nationalredress.gov.au or call the National Redress Information Line on 1800 737 377.

Reporting & Healing

 The Carmelites Australia & Timor-Leste are committed to helping those who have experienced abuse in the past find support and healing. Our Provincial is the designated Safeguarding Officer and can be contacted at the Provincial Office, (email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone (03) 9699 1922.

We urge anyone with evidence of criminal conduct to contact their local Police so that it can be appropriately investigated.

When children are involved, many States in Australia have mandatory reporting provisions to the police or relevant state authority. Use the contact information below for further information:

pdf Mandatory Reporting Contact Details for each State and Territory (130 KB)

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS RESOURCE GROUPS

New South Wales/ACT – 1300 369 977
Northern Territory – 0418 736 890
Queensland – 1800 337 928
South Australia – 1800 139 020
Tasmania – 1800 356 613
Victoria – 1800 816 030
Western Australia – 1800 072 390

Read our pdf Safeguarding Policy & Procedures (910 KB)    |    pdf Complaint Handling Policy 2021 (556 KB)   |   pdf Risk Management Strategy (653 KB)

ACSL Safeguarding Audit 2022  pdf ACSL Media Release May 2022 (219 KB)   |   pdf ACSL Audit Report May 2022 (848 KB)

ACSL National Catholic Safeguarding Standards  pdf NCSS Version 2 2022  (1.81 MB) pdf NCSS Implementation Guide Version 1 (2.23 MB)   |  pdf NCSS Version 2 2022 Compendium (25.78 MB)