At New Life Support Agency, we provide support in people's homes, and children are often part of those homes and families. Every child deserves to be safe, cared for and free from harm. We are committed to protecting the safety and wellbeing of every child and young person we come into contact with. This includes children we support directly and children in the families of the adults we support.
Our child protection policy meets the requirements of the Children's Act 2014 and the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989.
Our commitment
Child safety is everyone's responsibility. Every member of our team is accountable for recognising and responding to concerns about a child's safety.
- Dedicated leadership: a designated child protection lead oversees our policy, coordinates our response to any concern, and supports staff who raise one.
- Clear policies and procedures: our senior leaders make sure our child protection practices meet legal requirements and best practice, and we audit and review them regularly.
Safe recruitment
Everyone who joins our team goes through thorough safety checks before they start. These checks follow the requirements of the Children's Act 2014 and the Children's (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children's Workers) Regulations 2015. They include identity verification, reference checks and Police vetting.
Trained and aware staff
All staff learn about child protection during induction, and we provide ongoing training. Our team is trained to:
- Recognise the signs of abuse and neglect, including physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect of a child's basic, medical, emotional or educational needs
- Respond safely and appropriately when they have a concern
- Know who to go to for advice and support
How we respond to concerns
If a staff member is worried about a child's safety, we act promptly and carefully:
- Safety comes first. We make sure the child is safe from any immediate danger.
- We seek advice. Staff raise the concern straight away with our child protection lead or senior leadership.
- We record it accurately. Concerns are documented clearly, factually and confidentially.
- We involve the experts. Where needed, we report concerns to Oranga Tamariki or the New Zealand Police so that a child gets the right protection as quickly as possible.
Confidentiality and information sharing
We treat information about children and families with care and respect. We only share information when it's needed to keep a child safe. The law, including the Privacy Act 2020, the Health Information Privacy Code 2020 and the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, allows us to share information with Oranga Tamariki or the Police when we're concerned about a child's safety.
Our ongoing commitment
We review our child protection policy at least every three years, and sooner if the law or our practices change. This keeps our approach up to date and effective.
