YOUR SAFETY IS OUR FIRST CONCERN.

If you are in Australia and a child is in immediate danger or at risk of harm, call your local law enforcement agency or dial triple zero (000).

Badminton ACT maintains an absolute zero-tolerance policy towards the harm, abuse, or neglect of any child or young person in any form. Every child and young person has the fundamental right to feel safe, protected, and secure from all forms of maltreatment, with the freedom to participate in our sport within a positive, supportive, and enjoyable environment.To this end, Badminton ACT is deeply committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We ensure this by cultivating safe, inclusive sporting environments and by guaranteeing that everyone within our community including coaches, administrators, and volunteers is thoroughly educated on their protective rights and responsibilities.

BACT adheres to Badminton Australia’s Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy, which is meticulously designed to protect individuals under the age of 18 in sport. By establishing robust rules and transparent compliance processes, we ensure that our local sporting environments remain inclusive, positive, and completely safe for all children and young people, all of the time.

BACT Child Safety

Prohibited conduct under this policy includes (but is not limited to):

Child abuse
Harmful behaviours towards a child or young person including harmful training methods
Forcing a child or young person to train while ill or injured
Sexual or adult comments to or in the presence of a child or young person
Taking inappropriate photos or inappropriately touching a child or young person.
Any act affecting a child or young person that would be considered a breach of the Member Protection policy including bullying, harassment, discrimination, victimisation and vilification.
Asking a child or young person to keep any communication secret.
Supplying alcohol or drugs (including tobacco) to a child or young person.
Failing to comply with recruitment and screening requirements.
Failing to report a breach of Prohibited Conduct.
Being found guilty of child abuse or grooming under State, Territory or Commonwealth law.

As well as outlining prohibited conduct the Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy outlines mandatory child safe practices in sport, guidelines for child safe recruitment and the process for reporting concerns about the safety of a child.

It is important to note that complaints regarding breaches of this policy should be reported to Sport Integrity Australia. You can report any issues to BACT’s Integrity Officer via email vicepres@badmintonact.org.au. Badminton Australia’s National Integrity Manager can also assist with reporting and can be contacted via email integrity@badminton.org.au.

Sport Integrity Australia have a significant library of resources to support sporting organisations to keep children and young people safe.

Steps for reporting a child at risk of abuse or neglect

Legislation regarding who must legally report concerns that a child is at risk of harm differs across Australia, however we want our sport to be a safe place for children and young people.

Annexure A in BA’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy sets out the steps for responding when you believe a child is at risk. BA has set out the key steps and considerations. The key message is that if you see something, say something.

1. Respond

If a child or young person is at risk of immediate harm, you must ensure their safety by:

Calling 000 for medical or police assistance to respond to urgent health or safety concerns;
Administering first aid, if required:
Separating at-risk child or young people and others involved;
Identifying an appropriate contact person for any on-going liaison with the Police.

2. Report

If you suspect, on reasonable grounds* that a child or young person was or is at risk of being abused or neglected, you must report it to the police or ACT’s Child protection agency, a list of which can be found here.

If the alleged child abuse is occurring within our sport it should also be reported to Sport Integrity Australia as it may be a breach of our Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy.

*reasonable grounds simply means that if other people had the same information would they also be likely to suspect a child or young person is at risk.

3. Contact

The next step is to contact the parents or primary carers of the child involved but there are some essential things to consider first

If the Police or child protection have been notified regarding concerns a child or young person has been harmed or is at risk of harm from a family member or guardian you MUST seek advice from them BEFORE contacting parents or guardians.
For all other concerns consider who in the organisation is going to be the best contact person and contact parents or guardians as soon as possible.
Document all actions and discussions.

4. Support

All parties involved are likely to need some support (including the child or young person, their family, the reporter, any witnesses and those within the organisation who are involved). Before offering support consider the following:

Is support part of your role?
If support is outside of the scope of your role consider referrals to support services. A list of free support services is available here: The National Integrity Manager can also assist with this.
Support should include maintaining a calm open manner when listening to any allegations and disclosures, while avoiding seeking detailed information or asking leading questions.
Information regarding allegations of abuse need to be well documented and shared with the National Integrity Manager or Sport Integrity Australia.
Ensure you are supported. Managing cases involving possible harm to children can be distressing.

Childsafe Practices Do’s and Don’ts

Use of language and tone of voice	Positive guidance	Photographs or Videos

More do’s and don’ts content and resources can be found at the Sports Integrity Resources.

Last updated: 15 July 2026