Amateur Theate ~ Duty of care with children

Thu, 26 Mar 2009, 01:58 pm

mike raine7 posts in thread

I am very new to this site, so forgive me if this question has been raised already. I did a search, but was not able to find what I was looking for. Huon Valley Theatre is a small amateur theatre in Tasmania. We frequently stage musical and plays that involve children. I am interested in finding out what legal obligations we have with respect to those children. For example, are adult members of the company required to have police checks? I would be grateful if someone can point me to where I could find information about this

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mike raineThu, 26 Mar 2009, 01:58 pm

LabrugThu, 26 Mar 2009, 02:09 pm

Working With Children

Check with your local authorities on the Working With Children and Duty of Care Policies. These are a particularly sticky thing that you need to be aware of.

http://victas.uca.org.au/main.php?id=652 - Working with children

Might want to also check out http://www.childcomm.tas.gov.au/

That's your best starting point I'd say.

Absit invidia (and DFT :nono:)

Jeff Watkins

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Walter PlingeThu, 26 Mar 2009, 02:15 pm

Kids in Theatre

Hello Mike, Very good question. I suspect that Working With Children Checks are probably going to be an inescapable reality for any concern these days who have children in their ranks. The application forms themselves outline quite comprehensively the breadth of settings and personell who are now required to have a check. Bit sad to think that this sort of protection of children in recreational settings is required these days..... Hope this helps. Tulipa

LabrugThu, 26 Mar 2009, 02:22 pm

Thin Line

Agreed Tulipa, and it is a very fine line. As I undestand it, you can be fined for not having a license when you should. You could also be fined when you have a license and don't need it! I was involved in a massive review of employees working with the Juvenile Detention Facilities in WA and some of the clauses were ... odd.

There is a basic period of time within a given year (I think it's 3 weeks? not sure - check the sites) and if you have less than three weeks full-time contact with children you don't need one. More than and you had better get yourself one quick smart. The WWC License is on an individual basis but I believe there may be policy guidelines for groups also.

Absit invidia (and DFT :nono:)

Jeff Watkins

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mike raineThu, 26 Mar 2009, 04:02 pm

Thanks for all your prompt

Thanks for all your prompt and informative replies. You've given me some signposts, so I will now wnader down those paths and see where I end up.

mike raineThu, 26 Mar 2009, 04:39 pm

Some answers

Firstly . . . thanks again! I wandered down those paths as I said I would and discovered a couple of things of interest. In Tasmania, there is currently no legal requirement for people working with children to have police checks. See here: http://aifs.org.au/nch/resources/police/policechecks.html However, there is a discussion paper about a proposed system for tasmania, see here: http://www.childcomm.tas.gov.au/docs/consultationpaper.pdf I found that the Lion King production had an explicit "working with children" policy of its own, see: http://www.disney.com.au/lionking/auditions/children_care.shtml I expect that we would adapt that to suit ourselves and give us a bit of an interim safety net.

LabrugFri, 27 Mar 2009, 09:03 am

Congrates

Glad to have helped and a good result. Good luck.

Absit invidia (and DFT :nono:)

Jeff Watkins

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