The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and to creating and maintaining a child safe environment. Children have every right to feel safe, respected, valued and protected from harm. ASD does not tolerate abuse or neglect of children and is committed to taking all reasonably practicable steps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of youth with whom it comes into contact. ASD supports a youth safety culture and the promotion of individual and collective responsibility for youth safety and protection.
ASD’s primary engagement with youth is through education programs that aim to increase youth engagement with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), in particular sponsorship of the Girls Programming Network and a Work Experience Program.
ASD has developed an enterprise level risk assessment identifying nine risks. All risk controls are managed so far as reasonably practical.
Taking into account ASD’s unique activities, ASD’s Child Safety Policy informs and guides all ASD employees of their child safety obligations and ensures ASD meet its obligations under the Commonwealth Child Safety Framework. Under this policy, ASD will continue to require where relevant to the situation:
- facilitators to obtain a Working With Children Check (WWCC), Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) or equivalent approval
- completion of online youth safety training, and
- a risk assessment to identify and evaluate the risks to child safety and to implement appropriate mitigation strategies.
ASD’s youth protection reporting is facilitated via the Department of Defence’s corporate work health and safety system under a shared services arrangement.