Committed to the safety and wellbeing of every person.
As a Christian community, meeting together to worship God in the name of Jesus Christ, we affirm our commitment to the safety of each person, child and young person who interacts with our community. God’s word makes it clear that all people are created equal and that any position of power is to be accepted humbly and with the intent of serving others, never to harm them.
Our faith motivates us to love everyone and never to discriminate against anyone, especially on the basis of age, race, gender, language, sexual orientation, disability or family/social background. Therefore, we seek to protect the safety of all young people without exception. We take a zero tolerance approach to child abuse. We want our church to be a place where young people can come to know and experience the love of Jesus and his followers.
You can view the full outline of Anglican Diocese’ Child Safe policies and documents here: this site includes detailed information on Codes of Conduct, Clearances and Safe Ministry Training.
Resources for families with children
At St John’s we’re committed to resourcing and supporting families to have conversations about safety with their children. We’ve put together a Welcome Pack for new and existing St John’s families that includes some resources we use in our programs including the posters displayed in our church buildings.
In addition to this pack, we encourage you to use the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth’s resource, Protecting God’s Children, that has activities for young children to learn about boundaries, safety, and identifying people they trust to share with should they ever feel unsafe or uncomfortable.
Requirements for volunteering or working in ministries with children
It is a requirement of our Church and the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne that all volunteers and employees undertake a preparation process before serving in a ministry that includes people under 18 years of age. As well as our moral and social obligations to protect vulnerable people, this is a legislative requirement of the Victorian Government. Before beginning this process, please contact our pastoral staff with which role you’re interested in serving in so we can confirm your application.
These are the steps in the process:
Register for, Update or Renew a Working with Children Check
Click here to Register for a new WWCC
- Read through the page and prepare the necessary documents listed to prove your identity. Keep these next to you as you go through the steps. When you’re ready hit the orange “Get Started” button.
- Create an account with Service Victoria. We recommend using an email address that is personal and not connected to an organisation you may leave in future (i.e, work place or school/uni). They will send you an email to verify your identity to the account you nominate during this process.
- Confirm which Check Type you are applying for (volunteer for any unpaid ministry or service). Volunteer checks are free.
- You’ll be asked for some details to confirm who you are and to provide supporting documents.
- The “Type of Work” you will be involved in is listed under code 64: Religious Organisations.
- Provide the organisation details listed in the table below when prompted.
- Review your application and “Submit”.
- If your check is Volunteer, you shouldn’t need to provide anything in the Payment section and can move through that to the final page.
- You will receive a transaction reference number for your application. This is NOT your WWCC but the number you may use to check on the status of your application while you wait for it to be processed.
- Once you receive an email from Service Victoria with your WWCC number and expiry (or the physical card in the mail) please provide the St John’s Office with a photo of your new WWCC or bring it in person to show our administrator.
Click to Update your WWCC to be registered with St John’s:
- Read through the information and scroll down to “Get Started.”
- Provide the information requested at Step 1, confirm your identity at Step 2 using your email or mobile, and review your current details and organisations listed at Step 3. You will see a button to “Update” your listed organisations at the bottom of your list. Select that to proceed to Step 4.
- Step 4: Scroll down to find the “Add another organisation” button and add the following three organisations: St John’s Anglican Church Diamond Creek, Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, and Kooyoora Office of Professional Standards. You can find the details for each of these on the table below.
- Once all three are listed, hit “Next” and review your details again. At the bottom of the page, select the checkbox next to “I declare that the information provided is true and correct,” and hit “Submit”.
- You should receive a Reference Number for your submission to confirm your updated details.
- All three organisations will be posted a copy of your WWCC once it has been approved. This copy will be put on confidential file for record-keeping.
Click to Renew your WWCC to be registered with St John’s:
- Please Note: If your previous WWCC has already expired, your Clearance for Service is suspended and you are not to engage in any work relating to children until Kooyoora has received your new WWCC number and expiry and deemed your Clearance “Active” again.
- Read through the information and scroll down to “Get Started.”
- Provide the information requested at Step 1, “Your details”.
- Confirm your identity at Step 2 and “Submit” your application.
- You should receive a Reference Number for your application. Service Victoria now reviews your application and will send you an email to the account you gave for your original check to confirm your new check and number.
- Once you have received the email with your new check number (or the physical card in the mail), please provide the St John’s Office with a photo of your new WWCC or bring it in person to show our administrator.
Do you know which specific organisation(s) you work for | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Organisation name | St John’s Anglican Church Diamond Creek | Anglican Diocese of Melbourne | Kooyoora Office of Professional Standards for the Diocese of Melbourne |
| Postal number and street | 61 Main St | 209 Flinders Lane | PO Box 329 |
| Suburb | Diamond Creek | Melbourne | Canterbury |
| State | Victoria | Victoria | Victoria |
| Postcode | 3089 | 3000 | 3126 |
| Phone | 03 9438 1264 | 03 9653 4220 | 03 9416 1008 |
| office@ stjohnsdc.org.au | reception@ melbourneanglican.org.au | admin@kooyoora.org.au | |
| Occupational work code | 64 – Religious organisation | 64 – Religious organisation | 64 – Religious organisation |
Complete a Police / Crim check
Please follow the instructions to lodge your national Police History Check online:
- Click on this link: https://www.crimcheck.org.au/check/stjohndc
- Fill in the details including the electronic signature on the first page and state whether you are completing the check for yourself or on behalf of another (e.g. child).
- You will need to obtain copies of your Proof of ID – these documents provided must consist of:
- 1 x Recent photo of your face uploaded. This can be taken on the day with a phone or webcam but please ensure the photo is of the same clarity as other government forms of ID as it is used as a biometric scan that may be rejected and need to be re-uploaded if your facial features are not clear (e.g. light reflecting off glasses).
- 1 x Commencement Identity Document (eg: passport (can be expired within 3 years), birth certificate)
- 1 x Primary Community Document (eg: driver’s licence, passport (valid; cannot be used as both Commencement and Primary document), learner permit)
- 1 x Secondary Community Documents (eg: medicare card, school or uni photo ID card, bank card with applicants’ signature (blur out details except for the expiry))
- Once you have completed the form and clicked submit you will receive an email from CrimCheck with full details of your check. The office may need to follow up with you if any of your documents are incorrect or fail to upload correctly before the Check is lodged.
- As soon as the check is resolved it will be emailed to you. Please notify the office when your check is emailed or forward us a copy.
Apply for a Clearance for Service
Volunteers working with children are also required to obtain a Clearance for Service from Kooyoora. Kooyoora is an independent Professional Standards company that undertakes Professional Standards work for not for profit charitable entities. More information about Kooyoora is available here.
As of May 2024, a new online clearance platform provided by Kooyoora called OSCA (Online SCreening Application) is now ready for use. If you are applying for Clearance for Service you’re likely to have received the secure link and password to this portal from a staff member appointing you to any leadership position. If you have not received this please contact the office with the position you’re applying for and request access (office@stjohnsdc.org.au).You can find out more about this process at the Anglican Diocese website.
Complete a Code of Conduct for Child Safety & Wellbeing form and a St John’s Code of Coduct
Everyone who works with children is required to sign a completed Code of Conduct for Child Safety and Wellbeing form and return it to the church office. We recommend you download the form and fill it in electronically and then either:
- Sign it electronically and email to clearances@stjohnsdc.org.au
- OR print, then sign it physically and return it in-person to the office, or scan and email it.
Please note: There is a separate St John’s Code of Conduct we also ask leaders to sign annually or as updated. You will be provided with this by the staff member approving your clearance.
Complete Levels 1 & 2 Safe Ministry Training
Our volunteers and employees must complete the online training appropriate to their role.
- Level 1: Everyone
- Level 2: Those working specifically with children and youth
- Level 3: Senior leaders (e.g. staff, program coordinators, Parish Council Members)
There is also a separate Junior Leader (13-17yrs) Safe Ministry Training Module that is facilitated by our Generations Minister face-to-face which is arranged during the Clearance process.
There is a small cost involved for each training module. If you are able to pay that cost yourself then please do, with our thanks. If you are unable to cover the cost, please contact your team leader or our office and we will assist you. We do not want the fee to be a barrier to anyone serving and receiving the training!
For those working with children and young people, there is now a combined Induction course (M1 & M2 Combined) available on the training portal, and a combined Refresher course (M1 & M2 Combined) for those who have previously completed Levels 1 & 2.
Follow THIS LINK to access the website page that enables you to register for the course directly. You can also head to the Anglican Diocese website for more information and instructions on how to complete the set up process.
To find our parish, once on the registration page, type ‘Diamond Creek’ into the search box for Volunteer Courses (see below) for both the Induction and Refresher courses to pop up. The Induction courses are listed first (for those who haven’t previously completed Safe Ministry Training), followed by the Refresher courses.
Please note: The online portal, Creating Safer Communities, is an independent organisation and not managed by the Diocese. If you have any technological problems with the registration or set-up process like faulty email links, please contact the Creating Safer Communities team. If you need any assistance with the steps above please contact the Office (office@stjohnsdc.org.au) or Maddy (maddy@stjohnsdc.org.au).
Once you have completed all of the levels required by your role, you will be able to download a certificate of completion for each course which is available on your learning portal at the end of the course. Please send these to clearances@stjohnsdc.org.au for our records.
Have a concern about safe ministry at our church?
Here’s a flowchart to help you with the process. You can also view the Diocesan Reporting Procedures or contact Kooyoora (Director of Professional Standards). Kooyoora is also a great source of information if you ever have a Professional Standards queries, questions, or need support in working through this flowchart and aren’t sure where your concern falls. Give them a call or email to connect to their team who can assist you in the process and also help you work out which government organisations to contact at each step.
Safe Ministry at St John’s also includes a commitment to safe programs and places (our facilities or the facilities of any offsite location we run events at). Each program leader is required to complete a risk register for their event/program, and our facilities are regularly checked and improved according to Victorian Government standards.
Please do not hesitate to contact the office if you have any questions via office@stjohnsdc.org.au or 9438 1264.