Safer Churches
ACC is committed to making our churches safe for everyone involved – children, young people, adults, attendees, visitors, volunteers, leaders and staff. To this end, we run within our movement and each local church an education and training program called Safer Churches. Much of the Safer Churches program is driven by our national Child Protection Policy but it also extends beyond that policy to areas such as Work Health and Safety. The program caters for pastors, leaders, staff and volunteers in face-to-face and online formats. It has a national focus and also accounts for interstate variations in some legislation. All pastors, leaders, staff and volunteers are required to complete Safer Churches training and to repeat refresher training every three years. The training itself is modified over time to factor in any new legislation.
ACC provides a national Helpline for advice concerning any abuse of a child or young person. It is available during office hours and has an answering machine that is checked out of hours. If you or someone you know is suffering abuse, it may be best to report this immediately to the police. ACC churches each have a Safer Churches Person (or team) and there is also an ACC Tas Safer Churches Officer, whom you can contact here secretary@acctas.org.au. If you attend an ACC church and don’t know who your Safer Churches contact person is, please ask for that information from your Senior Pastor.
1800 070 511 Helpline