Queensland Child Safe Standards: Your Complete Guide

Queensland’s new child safety laws require around 40,000 organisations to adopt ten Child Safe Standards from late 2025. These reforms, grounded in the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024, aim to protect more than one million children. Learn who must comply, when deadlines begin, and how ChildSafe Australia can help.

Quick Links: 

• Who is Affected 
• The 10 Child Safe Standards 
• Timelines and When to Act 
• What Non-Compliance Looks Like
• How ChildSafe Australia Can Assist 
• FAQs 

Why the Standards Matter Now

The Queensland child safe standards are undergoing major, crucial changes and updates.

Queensland has taken a decisive step to strengthen child safety with the introduction of the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024. From October 2025, organisations that provide services, programs, or facilities for children will be required to adopt ten Child Safe Standards and comply with a new reportable conduct scheme.

The reforms respond to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and are designed to create environments where children feel secure, valued, and protected. Oversight will be managed by the Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC), which is providing resources and guidance to help organisations meet their obligations.

At the heart of the changes is a Universal Principle of Cultural Safety, ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children experience care that supports their identity, kinship, and community connections. For many organisations, these reforms represent both a legislative requirement and an opportunity to build lasting trust with families and communities. ChildSafe Australia is committed to walking alongside organisations through this transition, providing tools, training, and tailored support to ensure compliance is both achievable and sustainable.

Who Is Affected?

The Child Safe Standards apply to a wide range of organisations across Queensland. In total, around 40,000 organisations working with more than one million children will need to demonstrate compliance. This includes both large institutions and small community groups, with requirements scaled to the size and nature of the service.

Sectors covered include:

• Early childhood education and care services
• State and non-state schools, TAFEs, RTOs, and universities
• Health, counselling, and disability support providers
• Child protection, youth justice, and detention services
• Government departments, including councils and the Queensland Police Service
• Religious institutions, sporting clubs, and cultural or recreational associations
• Commercial providers offering services for children, such as gyms, tutoring, and play centres

Implementation will take place in phases between October 2025 and April 2026, with full rollout by July 2027. Early childhood services will begin compliance from 1 January 2026, complementing existing work under the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

Oversight sits with the Queensland Family and Child Commission, which has released resources such as guidelines and a self-assessment tool to help organisations understand their obligations. These resources are available through the QFCC Child Safe Organisations hub.

While every organisation has to meet the standards, a local volunteer-run club will implement the Child safe standards in different ways when compared to a large school or government department. What matters is that every organisation can demonstrate a child-safe approach that is appropriate for their organisation, their workers or volunteers, the children they work with and the program context they run.

The 10 Child Safe Standards

The Queensland Child Safe Standards set out what every organisation must put in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children. Each standard is supported by a Universal Principle of Cultural Safety, which requires organisations to create environments where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children feel safe, respected, and included.

The ten standards are:

1. Leadership and culture – Child safety is embedded in governance and organisational values.
2. Children and young people are empowered – Their voices are respected and they are involved in decisions that affect them.
3. Family and community engagement – Families and carers are included in safeguarding efforts.
4. Equity and diversity – Children experience safe and inclusive environments.
5. People working with children are suitable and supported – Screening, recruitment, and supervision are in place.
6. Processes to respond to complaints – Complaints are managed through child-focused systems.
7. Staff knowledge, skills and awareness – Ongoing training supports safe practice.
8. Safe environments – Online and physical spaces are actively monitored.
9. Continuous improvement – Organisations regularly review and strengthen their child safety practices.
10. Policies and procedures support child safety – Documentation clearly sets expectations and guides actions.

Timelines and When to Act

The Queensland Child Safe Standards will be introduced in stages, giving organisations time to prepare and adapt their systems. While full implementation is not expected until mid-2027, the first compliance deadlines begin much sooner. Planning ahead is critical because embedding the standards requires new policies, training programs, and cultural change within organisations.

The rollout has been divided into three phases:

• Phase 1 – from 1 October 2025: applies to child protection services, youth detention or justice programs, services for children with disability, and government departments, including councils and the Queensland Police Service.
• Phase 2 – from 1 January 2026: applies to early learning centres, kindergartens, childminding services, schools (state and non-state), TAFEs, registered training organisations, universities, health and counselling providers, youth support services, and state-funded community organisations.
• Phase 3 – from 1 April 2026: applies to commercial services for children such as gyms, tutoring businesses and play centres, as well as religious organisations, sporting clubs, cultural associations, and other recreational groups.

Alongside these deadlines, the reportable conduct scheme will commence on 1 July 2026. This introduces a legal responsibility for organisations to respond to allegations of harm involving staff or volunteers. Investigations will be overseen by the Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC), adding a formal layer of accountability.

Although some organisations may not be required to act until 2026, waiting until deadlines approach is risky. Compliance involves staff training, recruitment processes, and governance changes that cannot be developed overnight. The QFCC has created guidelines and a self-assessment tool to support preparation, available on the QFCC Child Safe Organisations hub.

What Non-Compliance Looks Like

Meeting the Queensland Child Safe Standards is not optional. They are written into law under the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024, which means organisations that fail to comply risk both legal and reputational consequences. The standards apply to tens of thousands of organisations across the state, and each one will need to demonstrate that children’s safety is embedded in their governance, policies, and everyday practice.

Non-compliance can take many forms. An organisation may have gaps in staff screening or supervision, weak reporting systems, or policies that exist on paper but are not followed in practice. In some cases, it may be a failure to create inclusive and culturally safe environments, leaving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children at greater risk. In other situations, it may involve ignoring complaints or failing to update procedures in line with new legal requirements.

When organisations fail to provide a safe environment, the risk of harm to children and young people increases significantly. Unsafe cultures and practices create opportunities for abuse to occur, leaving children vulnerable to exploitation and mistreatment. The consequences of such abuse are devastating and lifelong, affecting a person’s physical health, emotional wellbeing, relationships, and trust in community and authority. By contrast, strong child safe practices are not just a legal requirement – they are essential to protecting children from enduring trauma and to fostering safe, supportive environments where every child can thrive.

The organisational consequences of these shortcomings are significant, as the Queensland Family and Child Commission has responsibility for monitoring compliance and can request evidence that standards are being implemented. This may include policies, training records, staff supervision notes, or reports showing how complaints were handled. If an organisation is found lacking, it could face penalties or be subject to investigations under the new reportable conduct scheme, which takes effect from 1 July 2026. This scheme requires organisations to respond to allegations of harm involving staff or volunteers, with legal obligations to investigate and report outcomes.

Beyond legal risks, the reputational damage of non-compliance can also be profound. Parents, carers, and communities place trust in organisations to provide safe environments for children. A failure to meet the standards undermines that trust and can affect enrolments, funding, or community partnerships. It can also have a lasting impact on staff morale, volunteer engagement, and the overall credibility of the organisation.

Non-compliance also undermines the broader intent of the reforms. These standards go far beyond simply ticking boxes, as they create cultures where children feel safe, heard, and respected. When organisations fail to meet expectations, it signals to children and families that their voices are not valued, which can discourage reporting of issues and reduce community confidence.

How ChildSafe Australia Helps

Implementing the Queensland Child Safe Standards is a major undertaking. For many organisations it involves rethinking governance structures, developing new policies, and creating staff training programs that reach every level of the organisation. 

This can feel daunting, especially for smaller groups with limited resources. ChildSafe Australia exists to make this process achievable, offering practical tools, expert training, and ongoing support tailored to each organisation’s needs.

ChildSafe’s approach is grounded in more than two decades of experience in helping organisations across Australia embed child safety in everyday practice. Whether you are a local sporting club, a childcare centre, a faith community, or a large government department, the resources available through ChildSafe are designed to scale to your size and circumstances.

Key areas of support include:

• Training and workshops: Online and face-to-face courses that help staff and volunteers understand the standards and apply them in their roles. Training is available at multiple levels, from introductory awareness for frontline workers to advanced sessions for leaders and managers.
• Safety Management Online (SMO): A digital system that streamlines safety management by documenting policies, tracking compliance, and recording incidents. The platform helps organisations demonstrate to regulators and families that they take safety seriously.
• Policy templates: Ready-to-use resources that align with Queensland’s legislation and can be adapted to fit the specific needs of each organisation. These templates cover child safety policies, codes of conduct, and complaint procedures.
• Consultancy services: Personalised support that helps organisations map their current practices against the standards, identify gaps, and design a roadmap to compliance.
• Partnership subscriptions: Packages that combine training, templates, and coaching into one accessible service. These are especially useful for smaller organisations or those without dedicated compliance staff.

By partnering with organisations, Childsafe Australia helps create a culture of safety where children are heard and protected. This cultural change is vital to sustaining trust with families and communities as with tailored guidance, digital tools, and accessible training, organisations can move forward with confidence knowing that compliance is both possible and meaningful.

Frequently Asked Questions

Building a Child Safe Future

The Queensland Child Safe Standards mark a significant shift in how organisations safeguard children. By acting early, organisations can embed these practices into everyday culture and build long-term trust with families and communities. 

With the right guidance, tools, and training, compliance is achievable. ChildSafe Australia stands ready to support every step, helping organisations move beyond minimum standards to foster a genuine child safety culture.