Child Safety

The safety (physical and mental) of all our members is critical to our club, our competition and to Rugby AU, and this applies for all participants in our sport, our players, volunteers, officials and parents.

Rugby Australia has updated and revised their Member Protection Policy, Code of Conduct and Disciplinary policy so as to embed all Child safety requirements within the policies.

There is also now a National On line Incident Reporting System: Reporting a Concern

There are a large number of policies and codes on the Rugby AU website here.

The following policies should be especially noted;

Member Protection Policy
This policy sets out the standards of behaviours expected and not expected of all those involved in Rugby Union. Any breach of this policy is now dealt with by procedures listed in the Code of Conduct. This means Clubs need to refer to the Code of Conduct when dealing with any Member Protection issues.

Examples of prohibited conduct include:

Abuse of all types
Bullying
Harassment
Sexual misconduct
Unlawful Discrimination

Reporting of concerns may be done on line here.

Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct applies to everyone involved in Rugby…from players to referees, parents, spectators, volunteers etc.
The Code aims to ensure that Rugby Au’s expected standards of behaviour are upheld.

Clubs must:

Ensure that the Code of Conduct is available and promoted at Club level (eg refer to it on Club website)
Be aware of and uphold the expected standards of behaviour
Address any instances of prohibited conduct within their jurisdiction
Recognise and uphold any sanctions imposed
Appoint a person who is responsible for the administration of the Code at the club level
Ensure that complaints are treated seriously and promptly and at the club level if possible
Be prepared to enable an investigation into a complaint
Keep records of any complaints or investigations carried out and sanctions imposed