BRAVO FIT
CHILD SAFE POLICY
1. CHILD SAFETY PARAMOUNT
Bravo Fit is committed to:
• helping people improve the quality of their lives; and
• providing a positive, safe and supportive environment for children and young people who attend our fitness centres.
Our priority is the welfare of every child and young person in our fitness centres and ensuring their safety.
We do not tolerate any form of child abuse, neglect or exploitation.
We actively encourage children to express their views, especially on matters that directly affect them.
We listen to any concerns children or their family/guardians raise with us, and we act on them.
2. PURPOSE OF THIS POLICY
This Child Safe Policy outlines:
• our commitment to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people in our Clubs;
• the roles and responsibilities of our Team Members to ensure child safety and wellbeing; and
• the processes and procedures to protect and promote child safety in our Clubs that we must adhere to.
3. KEY TERMS
A glossary of key terms is in Appendix 1 of this Policy.
4. APPLICATION OF POLICY
This Policy applies to everyone undertaking work for the Group, including board members, executive leadership, Team Members, contractors, and consultants.
5. RESPONSIBILITIES
Child safety and wellbeing is everyone at Bravo Fit’s responsibility and all our Team Members must adhere to this policy and the principles reflected in it.
The Managing Director is responsible for ensuring this Policy is updated periodically and that the Group has systems and processes in place to implement it.
6. EMPLOYEE CHILD SAFETY CODE OF CONDUCT
Bravo Fit also has an Employee Child Safety Code of Conduct (Code of Conduct) that sets out the standards of behaviour expected of our Team Members with respect to child safety and welfare. The Code of Conduct informs children, our members and families and the broader community of the standard of conduct they can expect from us.
The Code of Conduct is published on our website: www.planetfitnessaustralia.com.au
Team Members must read and acknowledge the Code of Conduct and they must comply with and uphold the values imbedded in the code at all times.
7. JOB ADVERTISING AND RECRUITMENT
We acknowledge that child safe recruitment practices are important to ensure we hire child safe candidates and deter applications from individuals who may seek to abuse or harm children.
Our job advertisements and position descriptions state that we are a child safe organisation. They also state that successful applications must undergo a national police check and Working With Children Check, and that they must obtain and maintain relevant Working With Children Clearances in the State or Territory in which their employment is based.
We provide successful applicants with compulsory training on all our policies and procedure, including our Child Safe Policy, Employee Child Safety Code of Conduct, and Child Safe Reporting Policy. They must acknowledge and agree to comply with these policies as part of their onboarding as Team Members. We undertake reference checks on all prospective Team Members. These include questions related to an applicant’s suitability for working with children.
8. WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECKS
It is a condition of employment for all Team Members that they obtain and maintain a valid Working With Children Clearance in the State or Territory in which their employment is based.
We have established systems and processes to ensure we are notified by the relevant authorities if a Team Member becomes ineligible to hold a Working With Children Clearance.
9. INVOLVING FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES
We encourage the families of all children and young people attending our Clubs to become members of our Clubs.
We must have consent from a parent/guardian before a child is able to join our Clubs and take part in the health and fitness activities we provide.
We encourage feedback from our customers, including children and their families/guardians, so we can improve the experience of all people, including children and young people, attending our Clubs.
10. VALUING DIVERSITY
We value diversity and do not tolerate any discriminatory practices. To achieve this, we:
• support and encourage participation and empowerment of children from culturally diverse backgrounds, including first nations children;
• promote the health and fitness of all children who attend our Clubs to improve the quality of their lives;
• focus on the ability of each person who attends our Clubs, not on what they may or may not be able to do;
• ensure our Team Members reflect the community in which our Clubs are situated, including people from culturally diverse backgrounds, LGBTQIA+ people, first nations people and people of all abilities;
• welcome same sex attracted, intersex and gender diverse children and their families/carers; and
• commit to ensuring our Clubs are accessible and promote the inclusion of children of all abilities to their maximum ability.
11. BREACHES OF THIS POLICY
Team Members who fail to adhere to this Policy or any aspect of it may face disciplinary action that can include suspension or termination of employment/engagement.
We document, report, investigate and manage all breaches of this Policy and any associated policies in line with the Group’s human resources policies and procedures and applicable laws.
The Group’s Child Safe Reporting Policy must be complied with in relation to any applicable breaches of this Policy.
12. RISK MANAGEMENT
We recognise that risk management is important to minimise the potential for child abuse or harm to children and young people in our Clubs. For this reason, in addition to general occupational health and safety risks we actively manage the risk of child abuse and harm to children in our Clubs.
Through our annual risk assessment in relation to all activities involving children in our Clubs we identify improvements to our processes and procedures with the aim of minimising the risk of harm or abuse to children.
Risk Management Planning for higher-risk activities
We acknowledge that some activities may pose a higher risk to the safety and welfare of children than others. New activities or programs involving children must be rated as to their level of risk according to the following process:
A. Description of Activity
B. Identification of Risks (including risks to children)
C. Analysis of Risks (likelihood of occurrence, consequence if occurs)
D. Evaluation of Risks (as per below matrix)
E. Management of the risk (medium and above)
F. Ongoing Review
For activities rated as medium and above, we undertake risk management planning to ensure the risks identified are appropriately managed to reduce the likelihood of harm to children. Our planning includes risk identification, risk analysis and risk evaluation.
13. RECORD KEEPING AND CONFIDENTIALITY
We must keep and store safely and securely in accordance with security and privacy requirements records of:
• breaches of this Policy and related child safety policies, including the Employee Child Safety Code of Conduct; and
• actions taken, any internal investigations and any reports made to statutory authorities or professional bodies in relation to child welfare.
All reports of and suspected incidences of child abuse/harm must be dealt with in accordance with the Group’s Privacy Policy and the Child Safe Reporting Policy.
14. RELEVANT LEGISLATION AND STANDARDS
A range of laws and standards are relevant to this Policy:
• Child Protection (Working With Children ) Act 2012 (NSW)
• Children’s Guardian Act 2019 (NSW)
• Working With Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 (Qld)
• National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
15. PERIODIC REVIEW
The Board must review this Child Safe Policy, together with the Code of Conduct and Child Safe Reporting Policy periodically at least every 12 months or earlier if:
• the Group’s child related activities change or expand, including into new States or Territories;
• there is a change to applicable legislation, regulations or standards; or
• the annual child safe risk assessment recommends a change to the Group’s Child Safe Policies or related practices or procedures.
16. RELATED POLICIES
This Policy should be read in conjunction with the following:
• Employee Child Safety Code of Conduct; and
• Child Safe Reporting Policy.
These documents are published on our website: Privacy Policy – Planet Fitness Australia
17. PUBLICATION
This Policy is published on our website: Privacy Policy – Planet Fitness Australia
Key Terms
Bravo Fit: Bravo Fit Holdings Pty Ltd and each of its related bodies corporate
Child: a person under 18 years of age
Club: a fitness centre owned and operated by the Bravofit Holdings Pty Ltd.
Group: Bravo Fit Holdings Pty Ltd and each of its related bodies corporate
Team Members: an employee or contractor of the Group, including all directors and senior executives
Working with Children: being engaged in an activity with a child where the contact would reasonably be expected as a normal part of the activity and the contact is not incidental to the activity
Working with Children Check: the process undertaken by relevant government agencies to assess whether the applicant possess an unacceptable risk to children, including checking the applicants criminal history, and other relevant child protection information.
Working with Children Clearance: a clearance, certificate, licence or card issued by relevant government agencies that entitles the holder
DOCUMENT CONTROL AND RELATED DOCUMENTS
Name of Document: Child Safe Policy
Author: Managing Director
Document Approver: Bravo Fit Holdings Pty Ltd – Board
Related documents: Employee Child Safety Code of Conduct, Child Safe Reporting Policy
Records: V1
Date: 9 Oct 2023