Coach

As a coach your club should provide an inclusive, safe and fair environment for participation. To assist you meet your responsibilities your club should:

  • Request that you undergo a Working With Children or other police checks if required by your state's legislation
  • Explain your duties and responsibilities as a coach (e.g., some clubs provide a written job description)
  • Provide you with information about expected codes of behaviour.
  • Support you to complete training to improve your skills and knowledge
  • Provide you with guidelines to support you in your role (e.g., heat guidelines, photographing children)

To create an inclusive environment for participation and manage your risks as a coach you should:

  • Maintain control (e.g., don’t lose your temper, harass or bully others).
  • Balance competition with participation, particularly in junior sport.
  • Follow fair and consistent team selection processes.
  • Consider flexible coaching practices (e.g., to include people with a disability).
  • Make sure you use appropriate coaching techniques (e.g., do not use punishment or over training to improve performance).
  • Maintain appropriate boundaries (e.g., avoiding intimate relationships with athletes and never with children).
  • Avoid being alone with a child or young person (e.g., in the changes rooms).
  • Maintain appropriate physical contact (e.g., when demonstrating a skill).
  • Avoid transporting players, particularly children and not without parental consent.
  • Make sure any electronic communication with players is about team matters.
  • Do not provide players with alcohol or drugs.
  • Seek permission when taking images of players, particularly children.
  • Take action over any inappropriate behaviours (e.g., harassment or suspicions of harm against a child).

Child protection

People working with children in sport, particularly coaches, need to be aware that not all children will understand an action or request in the same manner. One child may see an action as usual or acceptable behaviour while another may find it unacceptable. A child’s interpretation of an action may also be influenced by cultural and religious differences, gender and prior experiences. It is important therefore to be aware of your communication style.

Download the risk management information sheet for coaches for some guiding principles and actions that may help coaches provide a child safe environment.

And for some simple risk management strategies, with a focus on children, download the risk management strategy information sheet for coaches here.

Officials

As an umpire or official you play a key role in creating a safe, fair and inclusive sporting environment, particularly for children. To assist you to meet your responsibilities, your sport should:

  • Explain your duties and responsibilities;
  • Provide you with information about expected codes of behaviour.
  • Support you to complete training to improve your skills and knowledge.
  • Provide you with guidelines to support you in your role (e.g., blood rules, heat guidelines).

In order to meet its legal/moral obligations your sport may also request that you undergo a Working With Children or other police check.

To manage your risks as an official you should:

  • Apply guidelines to ensure athlete safety (e.g., heat or blood rule guidelines).
  • Make fair and consistent decisions about the rules of the game.
  • Manage and minimise conflict.
  • Take action against inappropriate behaviour (e.g., racist comments).
  • Try to accommodate an athlete's request for flexibility (e.g., allowing a Muslim woman to wear her hijab).
  • Avoid being alone with a child.

You can also download the risk management information sheet for officials for some general risk management strategies for officials.