Caring for one another requires a little effort from us. It's something we need to choose to do. It's love in action. It's what we are called to do as Christians.

The Professional Standards Department was established by the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) to assist all those who engage with our church to care for one another. There is a Professional Standards Officer in every district of the LCA, including the Victoria – Tasmania District. Denise Muschamp is the Professional Standards Officer in the district. Denise is located at District Office most Wednesdays.

In a nutshell, the Professional Standards Department:

• coordinates training in a range of areas
• is responsible for the management of complaints in a fair and transparent manner, in order to ensure compliance with the biblical principles of reconciliation and the principles of natural justice
• develops further policies, procedures and other resources, which will be readily available online.

For information on workshops and training, visit the Professional Standards Training page.

For more information, visit the Professional Standards Frequently Asked Questions page.

For information about complaints, visit the LCA website.

ChildSafe

ChildSafe is a safety and risk management system, with a focus on keeping children and young people (and the teams of adults that work with them) safe in their programs and activities.

ChildSafe sets a standard of safety and care for the LCA. It is a requirement that everyone involved in ministry programs for children and young people under the age of 18 is trained in the system.

There are three levels to the ChildSafe system:

• A team member is any adult who supervises a group of children or youth.
• A team leader is appointed by the congregation to supervise a group of team members.
• A coordinator is appointed by the congregation to oversee the safety and training of all teams within the congregation.

ChildSafe is part of a prevention process and also informs of the actions that will be taken by the LCA to support individuals and programs when things go wrong.

ChildSafe ensures that teams consider all safety possibilities when designing programs and also increases the awareness of all current and potential team members to their duty of care responsibilities. These responsibilities are grounded in our moral obligations, as children of God and also in government legislation, to ensure that all organisations working with children provide environments that are safe from danger and abuse.

ChildSafe training

To become a qualified ChildSafe team member, individuals must complete the full Professional Standards Workshop (PSW) and a Safeguarding Children – Child Protection (SCCP) webinar (or provide evidence of appropriate recognised prior learning in this area).

ChildSafe team member training is required to be refreshed every three years.

This can be done by completing the online refresher test or by completing the full Professional Standards Workshop and Safeguarding Children – Child Protection webinar.

The higher levels of ChildSafe, including team leader and coordinator, can be completed through online webinars.

To view the full details of this training, scheduled workshops and registrations, visit the Professional Standards Training page.