Minimum Practice Standards Specialist and community support services responding to child sexual abuse

Amanda Paton, Victoria Parsons, Claudia Pitts, Kim Adamson, Leah Bromfield, Gina Horch, James Herbert, Vickie Hovane, Shaun Patrick O'Leary, Sian Burgess

Research output: Book/ReportOther output

Abstract

The National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse (2021–2030) First National Action Plan (the Plan) was developed to address a number of key issues in the fight against child sexual abuse in Australia, including the lack of consistent practice standards across jurisdictions in Australia (Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2021). The National Office for Child Safety (NOCS) commissioned this work to develop a set of nationally consistent minimum practice standards as part of Measure 24 of the Plan. The Standards were developed by combining evidence from the literature, an iterative process of consultation and review with stakeholders on important values and expectations, and consultation on implementation processes and challenges. The new knowledge created by this research includes: the first set of Nationally Consistent Minimum Practice Standards produced in Australia. The Standards provide a clear framework for the values that services must work under and standards of practice with clear mapping on how the Standards fit within a complex range of accreditation and guidelines within the sector. Guidance on implementation of the standards of practice, background information and terminology is also included. The Standards were endorsed by the NOCS and jurisdictions with responsibility for responses to child sexual abuse and released publicly by the NOCS. The report was subject to a high level of scrutiny and review with multiple rounds of refinement and a high level of acceptance and consistency in feedback across consultation rounds. The feedback indicated that the Standards would improve overall sector responses to child sexual abuse after a period of implementation.
Original languageEnglish
PublisherNational Office for Child Safety
Number of pages28
ISBN (Electronic)978-1-921241-69-7
Publication statusPublished - 2023

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