Child Safety Policy

LDTR is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our club — including programs such as Trail Blazers, MTB Lessons and Girls of Gravity, as well as all LDTR events and rides.

We take seriously the responsibility to foster a sporting environment that is caring, nurturing, respectful and safe. LDTR promotes equity and respects diversity by actively responding to the needs of children from all backgrounds.

It is the responsibility of every LDTR committee member, ride leader, instructor and volunteer to:

• Protect children and young people from all forms of abuse, bullying and exploitation
• Be alert to incidents of abuse or neglect that may impact young participants — both within and outside the club context
• Create and maintain a child-safe culture that is understood and practised by everyone involved with LDTR

All LDTR volunteers are expected to report any abuse or neglect of which they become aware — to LDTR management and, where required, to Victoria Police or the relevant child protection authority.

All LDTR volunteers, ride leaders and instructors are expected to uphold the AusCycling Code of Behaviour when working with children and young people. This includes:

• Treating all young riders with respect, dignity and fairness at all times
• Maintaining appropriate physical and emotional boundaries
• Never being alone with a child in an unsupervised or private setting
• Using appropriate language and avoiding behaviour that could be perceived as intimidating or threatening
• Refraining from photographing or filming children without explicit parental consent
• Never using social media to communicate directly with children outside of official club channels

Volunteers indicate in writing that they have read and are committed to the Code of Behaviour prior to working in any junior program.

LDTR takes steps to minimise the risk of recruiting volunteers who are unsuitable to work with children. Our process for those involved in junior programs includes:

• Communicating child safety expectations to all applicants and volunteers prior to commencement
• Requiring a current Working with Children (WWC) Check (Victoria) for all volunteers who work directly with children under 18
• Undertaking reference checks for instructors and ride leaders in junior programs
• Ensuring all relevant volunteers are familiar with LDTR’s child safety policies before their first session

Any volunteer who is unable to provide a valid WWC Check will not be permitted to work unsupervised with children.

All new volunteers and ride leaders involved in programs with young people receive an induction that covers:

• LDTR’s commitment to child safety and the expectations of all volunteers
• The Code of Behaviour and what appropriate conduct looks like in practice
• How to recognise signs of abuse or neglect
• The process for reporting a concern — who to tell, and when

LDTR supports ongoing child safety awareness as part of its volunteer culture and encourages all volunteers working with young people to complete AusCycling’s child safe training resources.

LDTR actively involves children, young people and their families in creating a safe and inclusive riding environment. We provide information to participants and their carers about:

• LDTR’s commitment to keeping children safe
• The behaviour expected of all LDTR volunteers and instructors
• The rights of children and young people to feel safe, respected and heard
• How to raise a concern or make a complaint

We welcome feedback from families and have a process for responding to concerns in a timely and respectful way. Two-way communication with families is encouraged across all junior programs.

If any LDTR volunteer, ride leader or instructor witnesses, suspects or receives a disclosure of abuse or neglect of a child — whether by someone within or outside the club — they must:

• Report it immediately to the LDTR Committee
• Follow any mandatory reporting requirements under Victorian law
• Cooperate fully with any investigation by Victoria Police or the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
• Not investigate the matter themselves or discuss it with other volunteers

Failure to report a genuine concern is considered a serious breach of LDTR’s child safety commitment and may result in removal from volunteer roles.

All allegations, disclosures or concerns will be documented by the LDTR Committee and monitored through to resolution.

LDTR is committed to regularly reviewing and improving our child safety policies and practices. At minimum annually, we review our procedures to identify and address any potential risks to children involved in our programs and events.

This review is the responsibility of the LDTR Committee and includes monitoring the conduct of volunteers and instructors, reviewing incident reports and assessing whether our policies remain effective.

This policy is aligned with AusCycling’s Child Safe Sport Framework (AC_OP_003) and is consistent with Victorian child safety requirements for community sporting clubs. Related documents include the AusCycling Code of Behaviour, Member Protection Policy and Social Media Policy.