Child Safety Policy

Our commitment

The Victorian Elite Cricket League is committed to the safety and wellbeing of every child and young person who plays in, trains with, travels with or watches the league. We have zero tolerance of child abuse and harm, in any form, by anyone.

Every adult involved with the league shares this responsibility: staff, coaches, umpires, team managers, volunteers, contractors, our partners, and parents and spectators at our grounds. If you are worried about a child, you are expected to act, and this policy tells you how.

This policy is written to meet the eleven Victorian Child Safe Standards. Where this policy uses “child” it means anyone under 18.

1. Who and what this policy covers

It applies to:

everyone who works or volunteers for the league, paid or unpaid, including coaches, selectors, umpires, scorers, team managers and photographers;
franchise staff and volunteers of the league’s franchises (the Western Falcons, Eastern Panthers and Northern Warriors in Melbourne, and the four Chennai clubs) while they take part in league activity;
contractors and partners whose people have contact with our players, including KIOC during the international pathway (section 10);
parents, guardians and spectators, to the extent set out in the Parent and Spectator Code of Conduct.

It covers every league activity: try-outs, training, matches, the JT20 and junior championships, the December season, girls’ and women’s cricket, the international pathway and any trip or tour, and any online contact connected with the league, including messaging groups and social media.

2. What we mean by harm

Child abuse and harm includes:

physical abuse: hitting, shaking or any use of force that injures or could injure a child, including punishment through excessive training;
sexual abuse and grooming: any sexual activity with a child, and any behaviour that builds a relationship with a child, or their family, in order to abuse them. Grooming is a crime in Victoria;
emotional or psychological harm: bullying, humiliation, threats, persistent shouting or belittling, including about a child’s performance;
neglect: failing to give a child the care, supervision, food, water, rest or medical attention they need while in our care;
family violence: which a child may disclose to a coach or volunteer;
online harm: inappropriate messages, images or contact through phones and social media.

Harm can come from adults or from other children. Both are covered.

3. How we keep children safe — the standards in practice

Culturally safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (Standard 1). We respect and value the identities and cultures of Aboriginal children and young people. Racism is not tolerated, and it is treated as a breach of the code of conduct.

Leadership (Standard 2). The league’s directors are responsible for this policy. Child safety is a standing item at every directors’ meeting, and a named Child Safety Officer is responsible for making it work day to day (section 6).

Children’s voices (Standard 3). Children are told, in words they understand, that they have a right to be safe and whom they can talk to (see “For players” at the end). We ask players what makes them feel safe or unsafe at the end of every season.

Families (Standard 4). This policy is published on our website. Families are told at registration who the Child Safety Officer is and how to raise a concern.

Equity and diversity (Standard 5). We make reasonable adjustments for children with disability, and for children and families from different cultural and language backgrounds, including help to understand this policy and to raise a concern.

Suitable people (Standard 6). We screen, check and brief every adult who works with children (section 5).

Complaints (Standard 7). Anyone, including a child, can raise a concern, and we take every one seriously (sections 7 and 8).

Training (Standard 8). Everyone in a role with children is briefed on this policy before they start, and again every season (section 5).

Safe environments, including online (Standard 9). The rules in section 4 apply at grounds, in change rooms, in transport, on tour and online.

Review (Standard 10). This policy is reviewed at least every year, and after any serious incident (section 11).

Documented (Standard 11). This policy, the code of conduct and the reporting procedure are in writing and available to everyone.

4. Code of conduct for adults working with children

Every adult in a role with children agrees to this code before they start. Breaching it may lead to removal from the league, and serious breaches are reported to police.

Always:

Treat every child with respect, and put their safety and wellbeing ahead of results.
Work in the open. Stay where other adults can see and hear you.
Follow the “two adults” rule. Never be alone and out of sight with a single child. If a one-to-one moment can’t be avoided, such as an injury, a medical issue or a distressed child, stay in view of others and tell another adult straight away.
Explain physical contact in coaching before you make it, keep it to what the skill needs, and stop if the child is uncomfortable.
Respect privacy in change rooms and toilets. Adults do not use them at the same time as children. Where supervision is needed, two adults supervise from the doorway.
Report any concern, however small, using section 7.

Never:

Use physical punishment or extra training as a punishment, or humiliate or threaten a child.
Make sexual comments, jokes or contact, or show a child sexual material.
Contact a child privately by phone, text, direct message or social media. League messages to players go to a group that includes a parent or guardian, or directly to the parent or guardian.
Give a child a lift alone in your car, unless a parent or guardian has agreed in writing beforehand and another adult knows.
Give gifts or special treatment to one child, or ask a child to keep a secret.
Invite a child to your home, or visit theirs, except as part of an arrangement a parent has agreed to.
Supply or allow alcohol, tobacco, vapes or drugs, or be affected by them while responsible for children.
Smoke or vape at a ground, in a spectator area or anywhere near players.
Photograph or film a child except as allowed by the Photography and Media Policy. Never photograph in change rooms, and never keep images of players on a personal device beyond what that policy allows.

5. Who can work with children, and how we check

Working with Children Check. Every adult aged 18 or over in a role with our players must hold a current Victorian Working with Children Check (or the equivalent in their home state) before they start. That includes coaches, team managers, selectors, umpires, scorers, photographers, drivers and tour staff. The league requires this even where the law gives an exemption, such as a parent volunteering in their own child’s team.

We verify every check online with Working with Children Check Victoria and record the card number, expiry date and the date verified. We re-verify every season, and we stop the person’s involvement immediately if a check is suspended, revoked or expires.

Before appointing anyone to a role with children, we also:

interview them, including questions about child safety;
contact at least one referee, preferably from previous work with children;
brief them on this policy and have them sign the code of conduct;
for coaches, confirm their coaching accreditation.

Every season: a child safety briefing for all staff and volunteers, covering this policy, the signs of harm and grooming, and how to report.

6. The people responsible

Role	Who	Contact
Child Safety Officer	Dhana Murugavel, Director	info@vecl.au, with “Child safety” in the subject
Second contact, if the concern is about the Child Safety Officer	Andrew Walton, Director	Ask any league coach or official to put you in touch, or go to the Commission for Children and Young People (section 8)
On tour	The senior league staff member travelling (named in the tour pack)	Tour phone, in the tour pack

The Child Safety Officer receives concerns, makes sure reports go where they must, keeps records, arranges the briefings, keeps the Working with Children Check register, and reports to the directors.

7. If you are worried about a child — what to do

If a child is in immediate danger, call 000 first. (In India, dial 112.)

Make the child safe. Separate them from the person causing harm if you can do so safely. Get medical help if they need it.
Listen. Don’t investigate. If a child tells you something, stay calm, believe them, and let them talk. Don’t ask leading questions, don’t promise to keep it secret, and don’t confront the person they name.
Write it down, the same day. Use the child’s own words where you can. Note the date, time, place, who was there and what you saw or heard. Sign and date it.
Report it.
- To police, on 000 or at a police station, if you believe a sexual offence has been committed against a child. In Victoria every adult must report this (failure to disclose, Crimes Act 1958 s 327).
- To Child Protection, if you believe a child needs protection, including from harm at home. Contact the Child Protection intake for the child’s area, or the after-hours Child Protection Emergency Service on 13 12 78.
- To the Child Safety Officer, in every case, the same day. If the concern is about the Child Safety Officer, report to the second contact instead.
Keep it confidential. Share it only with the people who need to know to keep the child safe.

You do not need proof to report, and you will not be in trouble for reporting in good faith. If you are a mandatory reporter in your own profession, such as a teacher, nurse or doctor, those duties apply to you as well.

People in authority have an extra duty. Anyone with authority in the league who knows of a substantial risk that a child under 16 in our care will be sexually abused by an adult connected with the league must act to reduce or remove that risk (failure to protect, Crimes Act 1958 s 49O).

8. What the league does when a concern is raised

Safety first. The Child Safety Officer makes sure the child is safe, and that police and Child Protection have been told where required.
Stand down. If the concern is about an adult in the league, that person is stood down from all contact with children while it is dealt with. Standing down is not a finding of guilt.
Tell the family, unless police or Child Protection advise us not to, or telling them could put the child at risk.
Don’t get in the way of police. We don’t run our own investigation into possible criminal conduct unless police say we may.
Respond. For conduct that is not criminal, such as a breach of the code of conduct, the directors decide what happens, give the person a fair chance to respond, and record the decision and the reasons.
Support. We offer the child, their family and the person who reported the information about support services, such as Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800).
Learn. After every concern, we ask what could have prevented it and change our practice or this policy if needed.

Timeframes. A concern about immediate safety is acted on straight away. Any other concern is acknowledged within one business day, and the person who raised it is told the outcome as far as privacy allows.

If you are unhappy with how we handled a concern, contact the other director, or the Commission for Children and Young People (1300 782 978, ccyp.vic.gov.au), which oversees the Child Safe Standards in Victoria.

9. Records and privacy

Every concern is recorded: what was reported, by whom, what we did and why. Records are kept securely, separate from ordinary player records, and seen only by the Child Safety Officer and the directors. Records about child abuse or allegations of abuse are kept for at least 45 years, in line with the recommendation of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

10. International pathway and touring

When players travel, including on the High Performance International Pathway (HPIP) camp at KIOC in Bengaluru (13 to 22 December 2026), this policy goes with them in full, together with the International Travel Terms and the tour pack.

League staff supervise at all times. KIOC coaches work with our players under the supervision of league staff and are never alone with a player. Every KIOC staff member working with our players has agreed to follow the code of conduct in section 4, and before any tour KIOC confirms in writing how it screens them. No tour leaves without that confirmation.
Ratios. At least one adult for every ten players, and never fewer than two adults with the group. If girls are travelling, at least one female staff member travels.
Accommodation. The squad stays in a quality 3–4 star hotel, with league staff at the same hotel. Players share rooms only with players of a similar age and the same gender. Adults never share a room with a player who is not their own child. Staff do room checks at night.
Medical. Every family gives medical information and consent to emergency treatment before departure. A first-aid-qualified staff member travels.
Parents who travel independently are not part of the supervision ratio. A player leaves the group with their own parent only by arrangement with the tour lead, who records it (International Travel Terms, section 4A).
Contact home. Families have a tour phone number that is answered at all times.
Reporting overseas. In an emergency in India, call 112. Child helpline in India: 1098. Tell the senior staff member on tour, and the Child Safety Officer in Australia, the same day. Where Indian law also requires a report (under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, anyone who knows of a sexual offence against a child must report it to the local police or the Special Juvenile Police Unit), the tour lead makes that report as well.

Chennai. The league’s Chennai clubs follow the VECL Chennai Child Safety Policy published on vecl.in, which is written for Indian law. A concern that involves players or adults from both countries is reported under both policies.

11. Review

The directors review this policy at least once a year, after any serious incident, and whenever the law changes. We ask players, families and staff what could be better, and we publish the version and date on every revision.

For players

You have the right to be safe, and to have fun playing cricket.

No adult should hurt you, scare you, touch you in a way that feels wrong, or ask you to keep a secret.
Coaches and staff should only message you in a group that includes your parent or guardian, never just you on your own.
If something makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable, tell someone you trust: a parent, a coach you trust, or Dhana, our Child Safety Officer. You won’t be in trouble.
You can also call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, any time, day or night. It’s free.
If you’re in danger right now, call 000.