Not all children and young people have the right supports around them to keep them safe and protect them from harm.
Our workers are trained every year to build their skills and knowledge to respond to and support children and young people who need their help.
Our training provides workers with practical information about how to safeguard children and young people from harm, including when and how to report concerns and information about child abuse.
Training requirements
Learn more about your requirements below:
Volunteers and service providers
Requirements
- Non-DECYP employed workers (volunteer, trainer, trainee or student on work placement, contractor or sub-contractor, external service provider), aged 18 years or over, must complete the Your Obligations – Safeguarding Training 15-minute video each year before engaging with children and young people.
- Certificates are valid for 12 months from the date of completion.
- For further information, access the frequently asked questions.
DECYP employees
DECYP employees
Training will be available late January 2025.
Requirements
- DECYP employees must complete the following compulsory online training modules each year:
- Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Training
- Mandatory Reporting Training.
- Each module takes about 30 minutes to complete.
- You must complete the modules by 31 March 2025.
- If you return to work after leave or commence with DECYP after March, you will have two weeks to complete the training.
- Certificates are valid until March 2026.
- You must also acknowledge that you have read and understood DECYP’s Conduct and Behaviour Policy and Conduct Standards.
- For further information, access the frequently asked questions.
DECYP relief staff
Relief staff
Training will be available late January 2025.
Requirements
- DECYP relief staff must complete the following compulsory online training modules each year:
- Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Training
- Mandatory Reporting Training.
- Each module takes about 30 minutes to complete.
- Relief staff must do the training before they engage with any children and young people each year.
- Certificates are valid until March 2026.
- Alongside this training, they will also be required to acknowledge that they have read and understood DECYP’s Conduct and Behaviour Policy and Conduct Standards.
- For further information, access the frequently asked questions.
Accessing the training modules
DECYP employees
Training will be available late January 2025.
Relief staff
Training will be available late January 2025.
Support to undertake the training
Some people may need additional support to undertake and complete Safeguarding Training.
Training support
Talk to your manager/DECYP contact officer* in the first instance if you require support to complete Safeguarding Training, such as help accessing a device and/or the internet.
For further advice, you and/or your manager can contact the Office of Safeguarding Children and Young People via safeguarding@decyp.tas.gov.au.
Exemptions
If you are concerned about undertaking the training, for example if you have lived experience of child abuse, talk to your manager/contact officer* or the Office of Safeguarding Children and Young People about seeking an exemption. You will not be required to provide details about your experiences.
To seek an exemption, you and/or your manager must contact the Office of Safeguarding Children and Young People.
They will also help you and/or your manager work out how to best to receive the training’s key messages in a way that supports your wellbeing.
Contact them via safeguarding@decyp.tas.gov.au
Alternative delivery options – advice for DECYP managers
If a group of workers are unable to access/complete the online training individually, you could consider running a group session.
You’ll need to contact the Office of Safeguarding Children and Young People before you make any arrangements. They will give you advice, including about the required documentation you will need to complete to support alternative delivery options.
Contact them via safeguarding@decyp.tas.gov.au
DECYP contact officer is a term that refers to DECYP employees who act as a contact point for non-employee workers (such as volunteers, external service providers etc) within the Department, in addition to supervisors and managers within external organisations.
Workers who are excluded from compulsory training
Visitor training requirements
External workers who visit DECYP sites on ‘one off’ occasions and who will be fully supervised by a DECYP employee do not need to do Safeguarding Training. This includes:
- guest presenters
- contractors, such as tradespeople
- Department of Health/Tasmanian Health Service staff
- Fire Education staff
- photographers for annual school photos
- lifeguards.
If full supervision is not practical or possible, the worker will need to complete the training video.
Emergency Service Workers that work for Tasmanian Police, Department of Police, Fire & Emergency Management who attend a DECYP site in an emergency are exempted from completing the Safeguarding Training and do not require to be fully supervised while on site. Other workers, such as TasWater, are similarly exempted if they are attending DECYP sites to undertake statutory duties.
For information about other pre-engagement checks, see the Safeguarding checks for new workers (including Registration to Work with Vulnerable People) webpage.
Parents/Caregivers
Parents/Caregivers who attend a DECYP site with their children or who participate in DECYP events to support and/or work only with their child/children do not need to complete training.
For example, attending a School, Library, Launch into Learning (LiL), Early Childhood Inclusion Service (ECIS), or Child and Family Learning Centres (CFLC) sites or events in the capacity of a parent/caregiver rather than as a volunteer assisting children.
If parents/caregivers will be volunteering in any capacity, for example parent help in the classroom/excursion, running a stall at a school fair, they are required to complete the training before volunteering.
More information
- Frequently asked questions webpage.
- Contact the Office of Safeguarding Children and Young People via safeguarding@decyp.tas.gov.au
- You may also be interested in our Safeguarding checks for new workers (including Registration to Work with Vulnerable People) webpage.