Child and Youth Safeguarding
The City of Launceston is committed to being a child safe organisation and has zero tolerance for child abuse and harm. All children and young people have the right to feel and be safe. Keeping children and young people safe is everyone's responsibility.
Report Child Safety Concerns
If you believe or suspect that a child is at risk, please speak up.
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Emergency
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Concerns for a child or young
persons' wellbeing or safety
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| Call Police on 000 |
Contact Strong Families Safe Kids:
• Call: 1800 000 123
• Online Contact Form
Call the police assistance line 131 444
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Are you concerned about the behaviour of a City of Launceston employee, volunteer, contractor or councillor?
If you are concerned about the behaviour of a City of Launceston employee, volunteer, contractor or councillor towards a child or young person, you can report your concerns directly to the Independent Regulator or to the City of Launceston in the following ways:
- Call 03 6323 3000 - you will be directed to the Senior Leader People and Culture or the Team Leader Human Resources who are equipped to safely receive your report.
- Email childsafe@launceston.tas.gov.au including the details of your concern and the person you are concerned about. Access to this email is limited to senior Human Resources leaders and the CEO.
Are you under the age of 18?
If you're worried, unsure, or not feeling safe, there are places you can go for help.
Information and advice is available via the link below.
I’m under 18 - Tell Someone
Or, you can call the Strong Families Safe Kids Advice and Referral Line on 1800 000 123 to talk to someone.
Statement of Commitment to the Safety of Children and Young People
More information and resources
Progress
City of Launceston's Progress to becoming a Child and Youth Safe Organisation
September 2023
The Council passed a motion presented by Councillor A E Dawkins - Establishing a Leadership Role for City of Launceston in the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. "To show local community leadership and responsiveness to the revelations of widespread historic and contemporary child sexual abuse in Launceston…"
October 2023 - August 2024
Council officers engaged in research and participated in training and education opportunities to establish the groundwork to becoming a Child and Youth Safe Organisation.
September 2024
Adoption of the Statement of Commitment to the Safety of Children and Young People.
May - September 2025
Officers undertook targeted consultation with stakeholders engaged in the Child and Youth Safe Organisation Framework implementation across the community. The purpose of the consultation was to provide a base from which the Child and Youth Safety Policy would be developed. Consultation consisted of four main elements:
Youth Engagement Framework Survey
An opportunity was provided for young people to reflect on the importance of safety:
- understanding the values, needs and perspectives of young people
- determining if the pillars of Safety, Belonging and Identity resonate with young
- people
A total of 118 young people aged 12-25 responded. Key findings included:
- 73% of respondents identified safety as highest priority
- Perception that young people not included in decision making at Council
- Participants would most like to influence Council's work relating to Child and Youth Safety
Child and Youth Focused Organisations Survey
Designed to understand child and youth focused organisations efforts with regards to compliance with the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework to:
- Identify any challenges to achieving to compliance with the framework
- Help to shape Council’s role as a child safety leader in Launceston
A total of 24 organisations responded, including:
- Sports/recreation organisations (11)
- Arts/cultural organisations (9)
- Community organisations (4)
Facilitated Art Workshops
This activity was designed to amplify the voices of young people in the development of the policy. Two Workshops were conducted, the first including LEAPY and YAG, the second with Stompin Youth Dance.
The Workshops provided a safe opportunity for the LEAPY group to participate in policy development. In a supported environment, young people discussed their perceptions of, and suggestions to improve, safety for children and young people.
Key findings/recommendations included:
- A suggestion to create dedicated well-being Officers who can provide immediate support
- 24-hour accessible safe spaces/drop-in centre
- Genuine partnership with young people in design of solutions
- Focus on cultural change alongside physical improvements
- Building understanding that safety is both individual and collective
- Make safety discussions ongoing and normal – not crisis driven
Interviews With People With Lived Experience
The questions and interview support processes used for this activity were devised in consultation with support agencies and victim survivor consultant ‘Leaves of Change’.
Key findings/recommendations included:
- Clear roles identified for Council in normalising discussion of child sexual abuse
- Pursue UNICEF ‘Child Friendly City’ status
- Key role for Council in facilitating multi-agency collaboration – such as the Ballarat Consortium model
- Treat child and youth safety like workplace health and safety – something requiring constant and ongoing attention
- The key principle "behaviour is a function of consequence, not attitude" - training and good intentions are not enough without real accountability
November 2025
Councils Child and Youth Safety Policy adopted at the November 13 Council meeting. This can be accessed via the link below.
City of Launceston Child and Youth Safety Policy(PDF, 154KB)
April 2026
A Child and Youth Safe Officer commenced with City of Launceston
May 2026
Internal audit completed of where City of Launceston are at in achieving/meeting the 10 Standards and Universal Principle of The Child and Youth Safe Standards
What's Next
Officers are developing a workshop for Child and Youth Focussed organisations to enable them to discuss common challenges and to share resources. This will enable these organisations to fully participate in the cultural shift towards creating a child safe city and to meet their compliance obligations under the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework.
Internally officers will continue to review policies, procedures and contracts - with the new policy as a lens - as Council moves towards compliance with the framework.