On 4 March 2026 our Diocesan Administration announced a new child safety framework, Safeguarding our Church Community.  A copy of the announcement is available here.  Infographics explaining the framework and complaint pathways are set out below.  Our mission policies are currently under review to ensure consistency with the Diocesan framework.  When the Diocesan framework and our mission policies differ, the Diocesan framework takes precedence.

The safety of children in mission life is important to us.  This page sets out important information about our commitment to child safety and the arrangements that we currently have in place to support that commitment:

• our Statement of Commitment to Child Safety
• our desire to have children participating appropriately, actively and confidently in mission life
• a Child Safe Code of Conduct to guide our clergy and others who work with children
• the policies and procedures that we operate under
• our Child Safety Contact Persons
• how to make a complaint about a child safety issue

This information will be reviewed and added to as our mission grows and meets more often.

Our Mission is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children.

For the children who belong to or visit our Mission, we will provide a child safe environment.  This means that we will act to ensure that children feel safe, are safe, and can participate appropriately, actively, and confidently in the divine services and in other activities of our Mission.

We have zero tolerance for any form of harm to or abuse of children.  This includes emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse.

Although our Mission follows the liturgical traditions traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church, it is multi-cultural and brings together families and individuals of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and needs.  We value both our unity and our diversity and are committed to words and actions that make this clear to our children and the children who visit us.

We operate under publicly available policies and procedures to support these commitments, and we will ensure that our clergy, office-bearers, and volunteers have the necessary information, training, and other resources to ensure that they are met.

We take allegations and safety concerns seriously and will deal with them promptly and respectfully.  They will be handled in accordance with the policies and procedures of our Diocese and with New South Wales and other applicable Australian law.

All who belong to or visit our Mission will be advised of our commitment to child safety and of their role in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children while here.

This Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and the paragraphs below concerning children's participation in the life of our mission were adopted by our mission in August 2025.

Our Russian Orthodox tradition is rich and multi-faceted.  In the life of our Mission, we preserve rites and customs developed over many centuries and in cultural settings that were significantly different to twenty-first century Australia.  We value these things, the living expression of our Orthodox Christian faith, as a precious inheritance that we, in turn, hope to pass to our children and to their children.

To make this possible, we want our children to participate appropriately, actively, and confidently in the divine services and in other activities of our Mission.  To this end, we will answer their questions, listen to their views, respect what they say, and provide them with opportunities to learn, read, sing, serve, and help.

Our mission has a Child Safe Code of Conduct setting out the standards that apply to the interactions in mission life of our clergy, office-bearers, and volunteers with children.

Acceptable conduct

To give effect to the mission commitment to child safety, those working with children undertake to:

• Treat all children with warmth and respect
• Listen to children and respond to their needs
• Contact a child outside church activities only when strictly necessary in connection with those activities, and then only through a parent or guardian
• Adhere to our child safe policies and procedures and to all applicable New South Wales and Australian law
• Participate in all training and development activities deemed necessary by the diocese or the mission to make the mission a safe place for children
• Immediately report and act on any concerns or observed breaches of this Code of Conduct
• Report any concerns that a child may be at risk of harm or abuse
• Take a child seriously if they disclose harm or abuse
• Take all reasonable steps to protect children from abuse
• Respect the privacy of children and their families and only disclose information to people who have a need to know

Unacceptable conduct

To give effect to the mission commitment to child safety, those working with children undertake to not:

• condone or participate in illegal, unsafe, or abusive behaviour towards children, including physical, sexual, or psychological abuse, ill-treatment, neglect, or grooming
• ignore or disregard any concerns, suspicions, or disclosures of child abuse
• fail to report information to police if they suspect a child has been abused
• trivialise child abuse issues
• use hurtful, discriminatory, or offensive behaviour or language with children
• persistently criticise or denigrate a child
• encourage a child to communicate with them in a private setting
• do things of a personal nature for children that they can do themselves
• show favouritism through the provision of gifts or particular attention

Interaction with parish children outside mission life

Our mission and the wider Russian Orthodox community are small, and our people are bound by family and social connections that extend beyond mission life.   When interacting with mission children at family and social gatherings outside mission life, our clergy, office-bearers, and volunteers must continue to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this Child Safe Code of Conduct.

Interactions with one's own children in mission life

When interacting with their own children in the context of mission life, our clergy, office-bearers, and volunteers must conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this Child Safe Code of Conduct.

We would also like to draw attention to our mission rector's Statement of Pastoral Boundaries.

Our mission presently operates with reference to the following documents of Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Wallsend (Newcastle), the parish to which the clergy who serve our mission are formally attached:

• Child Safe Policy and Statement of Commitment
• Child Safe Code of Conduct
• Child Safety Contact Person Position Description
• Child Safe Complaint Management Procedure
• Child Safe discussion points for Parish Council meetings and Annual General Meetings

These policies and procedures are currently under review.

The following documents of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia are also relevant to child safety in our mission:

• The Australian and New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia: Child Safe Policy
• The Australian and New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia: Code of Conduct

These documents took effect on 1 June 2023.  The policies and procedures under which our mission operates were reviewed in January 2024 to ensure consistency with Diocesan policy.

Our current Child Safety Contact Persons are Matushka Marie Carles and Reader James Savage.  They can be contacted as follows:

Matushka Marie Carles

Email

Reader James Savage

Email

Matushka Marie and Reader James also serve as Child Safety Contact Persons at Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Wallsend (Newcastle) and have been appointed in our mission on that basis.

A complaint should be made by any person who, in the course of mission life:

• witnesses unacceptable behaviour towards or around children
• receives a disclosure of abuse
• suspects harm or abuse towards a child

Complaints should be made to one of our two Child Safety Contact Persons.  A complaint may be made in person, by email, or in writing.  The complaint should include:

• details of the affected child
• details of any other persons involved
• something about the nature of the unacceptable behaviour, abuse or harm
• when and where the unacceptable behaviour, abuse or harm occurred
• the need for any immediate medical care

An online complaint form is under development.

Complaints will be handled in accordance with the Child Safe Complaint Management Policy that we follow.

The government agency that has oversight of child safety in New South Wales is the Office of the Children's Guardian (OCG).  Extensive information and helpful resources can be found on the OCG website here.