Child Safety in Football

Guidance for football clubs in Victoria, relating to the 11 Victorian Child Safe Standards as of 1 July 2022.

Football Victoria is committed to supporting affiliated clubs to create safe and inclusive environments for all children in football across Victoria.

Football is a sport built on cooperation between clubs and volunteers. The majority of time that trust is well placed, however unfortunately there may be occasions where an incident arises, and in such circumstances it is important for clubs to have the right processes in place.

Recent government inquiries into child safety in Australia have prompted changes to the law to provide children with greater protections.

As of 1 January 2017, in Victoria the Child Wellbeing and Safety Amendment Act 2015 requires sports clubs to meet “Child Safe Standards” (The Standards). The Standards are aimed at helping clubs to protect children from abuse.

A number of resources have been developed with independent advice to assist affiliated clubs to understand and meet their obligations.

Child Protection and Football - Guideline for Clubs

Child Safety Policy & Code of Conduct - Template for Clubs

FV Child Safe Policy

Child Safety Webinar - Resource for Clubs

FV Child Safety Officer Position Description

These resources are available for clubs to use and adopt, and are to be used in conjunction with existing policies and guidance from Football Federation Victoria.