Child Safety Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide Greater Western Water Corporation (GWW) employees, contractors, visitors, and our community with a clear understanding of our commitment and responsibilities regarding the safety and wellbeing of children under the age of 18 years.

Objectives

Keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility. Greater Western Water is committed to
the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.

Greater Western Water has zero tolerance for child abuse as part of our work, on our properties, at our events and in our online environments and will take all allegations of reportable conduct and safety concerns very seriously, ensuring such conduct is dealt with in accordance with our policies, procedures, and the law.
GWW will:

• Promote the safety of children;
• Prevent child abuse by setting expectations regarding working with children and young people including details of acceptable and unacceptable behaviours; and
• Ensure effective processes are in place to respond to and report allegations of child abuse and harm.

Scope

This policy applies to all GWW activities and applies to all employees, contractors and consultants working for GWW, where there is interaction with children.

The responsibilities to keep children safe applies to a broad range of scenarios where interaction with children and young people may occur. For example:

• When conducting any types of work where children are present i.e., schools, childcare facilities, learning centres, residential homes etc.
• When engaging with the community, whether inside or out of working hours
• Educational presentations
• When supervising work experience activities
• And through incidental contact

It is important that all employees are aware of their obligations, to report misconduct involving children and young people whether against a staff member or not, even if the conduct occurred outside of their work, or by a non-GWW person.

Legislative responsibilities

Greater Western Water takes our responsibilities seriously, these include;

• Failure to disclose: Reporting child sexual abuse is a community-wide responsibility. All adults in Victoria who have a reasonable belief that an adult has committed a sexual offence against a child under 18 have an obligation to report that information to the police.
• Failure to protect: People of authority in our organisation will commit an offence if they know of a substantial risk of child sexual abuse and have the power or responsibility to reduce or remove the risk, but negligently fail to do so.
• Greater Western Water employees, contractors and volunteers are required to report any general concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child or young person as soon as possible to the Manager, Workplace Relations & Governance who is GWW’s nominated Child Safety Officer.

Definitions

Roles and responsibilities

The Executive Leadership Team (ELT) is responsible for reviewing and endorsing the child safety policy.

The Chief People Officer and General Manager Strategy & Partnerships are responsible for ensuring the policy continues to meet legislative provisions for all employees.

Heads of, Managers, and Team Leaders are responsible for supporting and engaging their employees regarding the policy. People Leaders are responsible for taking all reasonable steps to ensure staff are compliant with the policy and related procedures and guidance documents in the event of interactions that align to this policy.

People, Culture & Safety Team are responsible for ensuring that pre-employment check, including Working with Children for all relevant roles are undertaken.

The handling of all child safe incident reports and investigations will be managed by the Manager, Workplace Relations & Governance who is GWW’s nominated Child Safety Officer.

All employees are responsible for complying with relevant GWW policies, guidelines and processes related to this policy.

References and related documents

Other relevant GWW Policies, Procedures & Guidelines include:

• Child Safety Guidelines
• Child Safety Incident Report
• Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees
• Talent Acquisition and Selection Procedure
• Working with Children Check Requirement Assessment Tool

Review Process

The policy will be reviewed annually as required by GWW and following significant incidents if they occur. Feedback received from families and children will be considered as part of the review process if applicable.

Approved by ELT on 19 February 2026
Next due for review by the ELT in February 2027