Diocese Launches New Protection and Safety Council
By Bill Wright
As a diocese we have an absolute and enduring commitment to promoting and ensuring the safety of all who are connected with us – be it through our parishes, Catholic schools, early education or community outreach services. To ensure we deliver on this commitment and continually improve our practices, I am pleased to announce the formation of a new body ? the Diocesan Protection and Safety Council (the Council). Formed in January 2016, this Council will offer independent advice to me, as Bishop, ensuring that the diocese continues to develop its policies and practices in the field of professional standards. The Council will advise on promoting the protection of children and vulnerable adults within the diocese, developing the diocesan capacity to continue to support those who have been affected by child sexual abuse and rebuilding a sense of trust within the community about the diocese’s commitment to protect children and vulnerable adults. Consisting of a range of professionals from local and interstate communities, the Council is deliberately diverse, with a mix of both Catholics and non-Catholics, clerics and lay people specialising in both the legal and mental health sectors. The Council will produce an annual report for each financial year, detailing results of any evaluation or review processes conducted, new developments implemented and an operations summary of the Diocesan Protection Unit – Zimmerman Services, available from December 2017.
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