Sacraments Safeguarding

In the spirit of the Gospel and the healing ministry of Jesus, the Catholic Church in Australia is committed to the care, protection and safety of children and adults at risk.

This commitment extends to the governance (control framework) of safeguarding and its implementation.

There are two layers of governance: the first is that of the Australian Catholic Safeguarding Limited (ACSL) with a national focus on safeguarding across the Catholic Church in Australia; the second being the individual governance committees established by each Diocese to oversee safeguarding in their constituent parishes and schools.

In the context of the Catholic Diocese of Sale, the governance is addressed by the Professional Standards Committee (PSC).

 

Australian Catholic Safeguarding Limited (ACSL)

 

The Australian Catholic Safeguarding Limited (ACSL) represents an evolution in safeguarding in the Catholic Church.

It was established in January 2021 by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Catholic Religious Australia and Association of Ministerial PJPs. It is a single entity which incorporates a number of bodies such as Catholic Professional Standards Limited, CPSL (established in 2016), the Australian Catholic Centre for Professional Standards and functions of the Australian Catholic Ministry Register.

ACSL operates independently from the Catholic Church under the direction of a Board of Directors and its focus is the safeguarding of children and adults at risk.

Statement of Purpose

ACSL will:

  1. actively work with Catholic entities to promote and oversee a nationally consistent, comprehensive and sustainable framework and culture within the Catholic Church in Australia which works to safeguard all who come into contact with the Church, especially children and adults at risk.
  2. continue to develop and maintain professional and safeguarding standards (National Catholic Safeguarding Standards, NCSS) and assist Catholic entities to implement those standards. It will also develop risk-based review criteria to assist Catholic entities to arrange audit/reviews of their systems and processes.
  3. audit compliance of Catholic entities throughout the diocese against the NCSS, holding the leaders and members of Catholic organisations accountable for the safety of children and adults at risk who come into contact with the Church and its works. Enhanced transparency will be ensured through the publication of audit results on the ACSL website.
  4. have a role to support the implementation of the National Response Protocol and monitor its application.

For more information, please visit https://www.cpsltd.org.au/ the ACSL website is accessed here.

 

Professional Standards Committee (PSC)

 

The Professional Standards Committee (PSC) of the Diocese of Sale is an advisory body to the Bishop who is the ultimate decision maker. It oversees and monitors policies, procedures and practices which safeguard children and adults at risk to ensure safeguarding functions are embedded in the governance structures and practices of the Diocese and DOSCEL.

This includes:

  1. compliance with Victorian and national legislative requirements in reporting
  2. the effective ongoing implementation of safeguarding practices and related procedures and practices to safeguard children and adults at risk, and
  3. responses to civil litigation, the National Redress Scheme and other complaints, concerns and disclosures.

For a listing of committee members, please refer to the Diocesan Committees and Commissions page.

 

For further information, contact the Diocesan  Business Manager Mary Winter on pso@sale.catholic.org.au or contact (03) 5614 5140.

 

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