Welcome to the Safe Church website

This website is for congregations, presbyteries and faith communities of the Uniting Church of Australia Synod of Victoria and Tasmania. You will find here everything you need to make your organisation as safe as possible for children.

Report

If a child is in immediate danger, ring 000 and report the situation to the police. Try to keep the child safe in the meantime.

Ring 000

Report

If you need to report a case of misconduct, abuse or historical abuse click here

 

Discover

This website is designed to enable you to meet your moral and legal responsibilities as spelled out in the Synod’s Child Safe Policy.

The Uniting Church of Australia Synod of Victoria and Tasmania makes the following commitment:

All children who are involved in any of the Uniting Church’s activities, services, events or programs have a right to feel and be safe. The Uniting Church in Australia is committed to provide safe environments where children are cared for, respected, nurtured and sustained.

We have zero tolerance of all forms of child abuse and will do all in our power to safeguard children from abuse.

The Church commits itself to the creation and maintenance of a child-safe culture to ensure the care, protection and safety of all children engaging with the Church in any of its entities.

Abuse thrives on secrecy. To prevent child abuse across the Church, we are committed to providing clear leadership and open and transparent governance to combat secrecy.

The Church clearly affirms its commitment to upholding the law. This includes the requirement to report abuse to the appropriate authorities.

Contact

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints please contact the Safe Church Unit by email or direct your call to one of our representatives below.

profile-minister
Candice Coles
Advisor

Candice is a social worker who has worked in family services, youth mental health, training and policy implementation. Candice is responsible for:

  • Assisting with resourcing and implementation of the Synod’s Child Safe Policy.
  • Advice about the protection of children and vulnerable adults.
  • Being the contact person for Direct Personal Responses as part of the National Redress Scheme or through other redress processes.
  • Providing support and direction for Reportable Conduct issues.

Candice can be contacted Monday-Thursday by email or 0499 408 889.

profile-minister

Candice Coles

Candice is a social worker who has worked in family services, youth mental health, training and policy implementation. Candice is responsible for: • Assisting with resourcing and implementation of the Synod’s Child Safe Policy. • Advice about the protection of children and vulnerable adults. • Being the contact person for Direct Personal Responses as part of the National Redress Scheme or through other redress processes. • Providing support and direction for Reportable Conduct issues. Candice can be contacted Monday-Thursday by email or 0499 408 889.
profile-minister

Candice Coles

Candice is a social worker who has worked in family services, youth mental health, training and policy implementation. Candice is responsible for: • Assisting with resourcing and implementation of the Synod’s Child Safe Policy. • Advice about the protection of children and vulnerable adults. • Being the contact person for Direct Personal Responses as part of the National Redress Scheme or through other redress processes. • Providing support and direction for Reportable Conduct issues. Candice can be contacted Monday-Thursday by email or 0499 408 889.