2025 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE ANNUAL CHILD SAFETY STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE COMMONWEALTH CHILD SAFE FRAMEWORK
The Department of Defence is committed to the safety and wellbeing of youth (children). We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment where youth are safe and supported. Defence does not tolerate abuse or neglect of youth and takes all reasonable steps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of youth with whom it comes into contact. We do this through supporting a youth safety culture and ensuring that all adults who engage with youth, on behalf of Defence, understand their responsibilities.
Defence engages with youth intentionally primarily through targeted youth programs; and family and community events. ADF Cadets is Defence’s largest youth program, and currently includes approximately 32,000 youth participants and 4,800 adult volunteers across 589 locations. Defence also engages with youth through work experience programs and targeted industry, school and university programs.
Defence interacts with youth in the workplace environment. At peak times, there are approximately 200 members in the Australian Defence Force who are under 18 years of age. Defence fosters a culture that values its people and recognises that youth-aged ADF members are owed a duty of care to ensure their health, protection and wellbeing.
Defence has developed an enterprise level risk assessment based on the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, identifying seven risks, with the highest residual rating at medium. The Enterprise Risk Assessment is reviewed annually with a broad range of stakeholders. Key strategies include:
- increasing the level of difficulty for someone to offend
- reducing the appeal of causing harm
- empowering children to speak up
- reducing the vulnerability of the child
- building staff capability and fostering organisational cultures where all adults take an active role in identifying and responding to children’s safety and wellbeing.
Defence aims to embed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations within Defence culture. The low number of youth protection incidents and a positive reporting culture supports the effectiveness of the Enterprise risk assessment.
The recently completed Youth Protection training reform program has created a contemporary suite of courses designed to support a culture within Defence of ensuring youth are protected and to maintain compliance with the Commonwealth Child Safe Framework.
In 2025, Defence completed a detailed review of policy for youth and recently issued the Defence Youth Manual and a number of guides to support building capability and knowledge within Defence when dealing with Youth. These are public facing documents, demonstrating Defence’s commitment to youth safety and wellbeing and how youth safety is prioritised and managed within Defence. Contact details are provided within the documents to allow community members to provide feedback and observations about the policy and guides.
Defence has strengthened its incident reporting capacity through the introduction of a Department wide incident management system. Additional reforms are currently underway to further incident reporting capacity within the Department, reducing duplication and simplifying processes.
- require all ADF members, Australian Public Service employees, volunteers including members of the ADF Cadets, and contractors to demonstrate their commitment to youth safety through their agreement to undertake their duties in accordance with the appropriate Defence or ADF Cadet youth safety code of conduct
- Continue to invest in trauma informed training and skilling our workforce in youth protection
- complete suitability screening for adults working with youth in the Defence environment and require ADF members, APS employees, volunteers including members of the ADF Cadets, and contractors to complete appropriate and relevant youth protection training
- engage proactively with parents, guardians, specified next of kin and other agencies involved in the protection of young people whilst ensuring we maintain compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions related to children and armed conflict
- maintain clear processes for reporting and responding to disclosures, suspicions and allegations of abuse or neglect in accordance with state and territory legislation.