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Dear Rotarians,
From 1 July 2026, new Queensland legislation within — the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 — applies to a wide range of organisations across Queensland, and Rotary clubs are included. The Act now requires members and clubs to identify, assess, investigate, and report any allegation of misconduct towards a child involving a "worker."
A worker is defined broadly under the Act and includes any volunteer, paid or unpaid, regardless of whether their role involves direct contact with young people. In short, this will relate to you if you or your club has any involvement with youth programs, so please take a few minutes to read this email to the end.
To meet these new legal obligations, the District Board has approved a Reportable Conduct Scheme Policy setting out what is reportable conduct, how reports are made, how they're handled, and everyone's responsibilities under it.
It's a lengthy document, so to help, we've also prepared a short Aide-Memoire (download here) — a practical, short guide Rotarians can turn to if a concern is ever raised. Both sit alongside our existing youth protection procedures and don't replace them; you can access a full copy of the Reportable Conduct Scheme Policy at www.rotary9560.org/member-resources/documents/ (refer to “Youth Protection Documents”).
This legislation is very new, and the priority for all of us right now is understanding which conduct needs to be reported, and that any concern must be escalated immediately, as the District then has a statutory deadline of three business days to notify the Queensland Family & Child Commission. Beyond that initial notification, the investigation and subsequent investigation report will be determined by the District Youth Protection Officer, in consultation with the District Governor and the relevant Club President.
To make a report of a youth protection concern, please visit the District website at www.rotary9560.org/report
All Rotarians and volunteers within a Rotary youth program are encouraged to read the policy and consider how this new legislation may affect you or your club.
The impact on each club will vary depending on its degree of youth engagement, so having a clear understanding of how it relates to your club will be vital in meeting the goals of the legislation.
If you have questions, please direct them through your Club Youth Protection Officer to me, as District Youth Protection Officer. If your club does not have a Youth Protection Officer, please coordinate with your Club President.
Thank you for helping keep our programs safe.
Kind Regards,
David Peff
District Youth Protection Officer
Rotary International District 9560
youthprotection@rotary9560.org |
