2026 Department of Defence Annual Child Safety Statement of Compliance with the Commonwealth Child Safety Framework
The Department of Defence is committed to promoting and protecting the safety, wellbeing and rights of children and young people. Defence is dedicated to fostering a culture in which children and young people are safe, respected, valued and supported in all environments where Defence personnel, volunteers and representatives engage with them.
Defence has a zero-tolerance approach to child abuse, neglect and exploitation. The Department takes all reasonable measures to prevent harm to children and young people and to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place across all Defence activities. The Department is committed to maintaining a strong child safety culture and ensuring that all personnel understand and fulfil their responsibilities in protecting children and young people.
Defence engages with children and young people through a range of programs, activities and initiatives. These include youth development programs, family and community events, work experience opportunities, and engagement with schools, universities and industry partners. The Australian Defence Force Cadets (ADF Cadets) remains Defence’s largest youth-focused program, supporting almost 34,000 young people and more than 5,000 adult volunteers across 590 locations nationwide. The ADF Cadets program does not discriminate and includes young people from diverse backgrounds, including those with disabilities.
Defence also has responsibilities for young people within the workforce environment. At peak periods, approximately 200 Australian Defence Force members are under 18 years of age. Defence recognises its duty of care to young members and remains committed to safeguarding their health, wellbeing and development through appropriate policies, leadership and support mechanisms.
To strengthen child safety governance, Defence maintains an enterprise-level risk assessment informed by the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. This assessment identifies key child safety risks across the organisation and is reviewed annually in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders. Defence's risk management approach focuses on:
- Increasing barriers to offending and opportunities for early intervention – We do this through our contemporary training regime, signed codes of conduct, supervision ratios and the conduct of working with children checks and national police checks for all volunteers, those in work related youth positions and third party providers.
- Reducing circumstances that may enable harm – We do this through supervision ratios, education and training and activity risk management.
- Empowering children and young people to raise concerns and seek support – We do this through education of youth and through multiple reporting channels.
- Building workforce capability and fostering a culture in which all adults actively contribute to child safety and wellbeing – We do this through training, adult codes of conduct and supervision.
- Maintaining clear, accessible and contemporary policies and procedures – We do this through the production of policy that is accessible online and through procedures contained within the Cadet Enterprise Application.
- Understanding our Youth Risk Profile – We do this through enterprise-wide engagement in the Youth Community of Practice to develop a greater understanding of where the Department interacts with youth.
Defence continues to embed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations across its culture, systems and practices. The low number of youth protection incidents, together with Defence's strong reporting culture, provides confidence in the effectiveness of Defence's child safety arrangements and ongoing risk management activities.
The Youth Protection Training Reform Program has delivered a contemporary and streamlined suite of learning products designed to strengthen awareness, capability and accountability across the workforce, including youth. These initiatives support Defence's commitment to maintaining compliance with the Commonwealth Child Safety Framework and promoting a culture of continuous improvement.
In 2025, Defence completed a comprehensive review of youth-related policy and released the Defence Youth Manual, supported by a suite of practical guidance materials. These publicly available resources enhance understanding of Defence's approach to engaging with children and young people and reinforce the Department's commitment to transparency, child safety and wellbeing. The documents also provide mechanisms for members of the community to offer feedback or raise concerns regarding Defence's child safety policies and practices.
Defence has further strengthened its incident management and reporting arrangements through the introduction of a department-wide incident management system. Additional initiatives are underway to improve reporting processes, reduce duplication and simplify administrative requirements. These initiatives support timely reporting, effective management of incidents and Defence's positive reporting culture. Further strengthening Defence’s complaints management arrangements is the recently commenced Complaint, Resolution and Support Services where youth or their families can make anonymous complaints. This specialised and centralised service manages a wide range of complaints, including youth-related matters.
Recognising the unique nature of its operations and activities, Defence will continue to:
- require Australian Defence Force members, Australian Public Service employees, contractors and volunteers, including members of the ADF Cadets, to uphold Defence child safety expectations and comply with relevant child safety codes of conduct.
- conduct appropriate suitability screening for adults working with children and young people and ensure completion of relevant child safety and youth protection training.
- engage proactively with parents, guardians, next of kin and partner agencies involved in the protection and wellbeing of children and young people, while meeting relevant domestic and international obligations.
- maintain clear and effective processes for reporting, responding to and managing disclosures, concerns and allegations of abuse or neglect in accordance with applicable Commonwealth, state and territory requirements.
- undertake a review of State and Territory Reportable Conduct Schemes for their applicability to Defence and align Schemes and Defence policy where appropriate.
Defence remains committed to continuously strengthening its child safety framework and ensuring that the safety, wellbeing and best interests of children and young people remain central to all Defence activities and engagements.