OUR COMMITMENT TO CHILD SAFETY

Here at MCA we have a commitment built into our Ways of Working to deliver a child safe environment at all times to our community. This includes the following principles in how we operate:

• We want children to be safe, happy and empowered.
• We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers.
• We are committed to the safety, participation and empowerment of all children.
• We have zero tolerance of child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with our robust policies and procedures.
• We have legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety, which we follow rigorously.
• MCA is committed to preventing child abuse and identifying risks early, and removing and reducing these risks.
• MCA has robust human resources and recruitment practices to reduce the risk of child abuse by new and existing board members, staff and volunteers.
• We are committed to regularly training and educating our staff and volunteers on child abuse risks.
• We are committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children, the cultural safety of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to providing a safe environment for children with a disability.
• We have specific policies and procedures in place that support our staff and volunteers to achieve these commitments.

Our staff are highly trained professionals, who all hold a valid Working With Children Check. We also require any volunteers (eg Team Heroes) to have a WWCC or equivalent.

ADULT ATHLETES

The safety of all of our athletes is our top priority, and for the safety and well-being of our underage athletes, we kindly request that participants over the age of 18 who possess a Working With Children Check (WWCC) provide this documentation. We feel this is demonstrative of our commitment to child safety and sets a standard of trust and confidence for all participants and their families. This also helps us to foster a culture of transparency and accountability within our gym.

Please note that this is not a legal requirement for our industry nor to participate in our sport, however we encourage all athletes to apply for a free volunteer WWCC. You can find out how to apply here! 

Concerned about something within our gym?

Should the safety of an athlete ever be in doubt, and in line with Child Safety Standards, we have put in place a formalised complaint process and form for athletes and supporters to report any concerns they may have. You can complete this form online here.