Safeguarding Children & Young People

St Jude's Parish holds the care, safety and wellbeing of children as a fundamental responsibility of the Church. This commitment is drawn from, and inherent to, the teaching and mission of Jesus Christ, with love, justice and the dignity of each human person at the heart of the Gospel.

A culture of safety within the church ensures that children can actively and fully participate in the life of the Church and realise their potential in a faith community.

We are committed to upholding the safety and dignity of each child and young person and ensuring that they are able to grow and develop in a caring and supportive environment in our Church.

We are committed to creating a child safe culture across the Archdiocese that safeguards children and young people from all forms of abuse.

We are committed to zero tolerance of all forms child abuse and discrimination and will always act to safeguard children and young people and report suspected abuse promptly to the appropriate authorities.

We are committed to ensuring that all persons who have, or may be expected to have, contact with children and young people acknowledge their responsibility to safeguard children and young people from abuse and discrimination.

St Jude's Safeguarding Committee consists of:

Fr Jerald Mariadas - Parish Priest
Princy Samuel Child Safety Officer

The Committee members can be contacted through the Parish Office on 9763 7302 or by email at scoresby@cam.org.au

Please note that anyone volunteering over the age of 18 years for St Jude's Parish in our Parish Ministries or Groups are required to have a current Working with Children Check (WWCC) and to have read and signed the Safeguarding Children & Young People Code of Conduct Declaration.

Working with Children Check - please click on the following link:

Working with Children Check | vic.gov.au (www.vic.gov.au)

If you already have a card, login in to "Mycheck", click "change my details", and then click "add an organization". If you do not have a WWCC Card, click "Apply for a Check".

In both cases follow the prompts and add details as follows:

St Jude's Parish

49 George Street

Scoresby Vic 3179

(03) 9763 7302

Under the field Child-Related Work, choose "64-Religious Organisation".

Please provide the Parish Office with your WWCC details so we can complete and update our records.

If you don't have access to the internet, please call the "Working with Children Check on 1300 652 879 or phone the Parish Office for assistance.

Please note if you are a teacher registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching there is no need to apply for a WWCC, however, you are required to notify WWCCV of any organisations you volunteer for. Please click on the link below to submit an online form.

Service Victoria | Teacher notification

Safeguarding Children & Young People Code of Conduct Declaration is required to be re-signed every three years for volunteers and annually for clergy and employees. Please note that a hard copy of the Code of Conduct Declaration can be found in the Church foyer or by contacting the Parish Office.

The National Catholic Safeguarding Standards (NCSS) underpin the Catholic Church's commitment to working towards a common goal of every child, in every community being safe, cared for, having their needs met and being afforded the chance to realise their potential.

St Jude the Apostle Parish is supportive and committed to the safety of all children, adults at risk, families, carers and our whole community. Your safety is our priority.

Please see the links below to view the various documentation supporting Safeguarding issues in our Parish.

Working with Children Check & the signing of the Safeguarding Children & Young People Code of Conduct Declaration

For St Jude’s Parish to be compliant with the Safeguarding requirements all volunteers over the age of 18 years are required to have a current Working with Children Check which can be accessed by visiting www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au and follow the prompts. Under the field “Child-Related Work, choose “64-Religious Organisation”. It is imperative that all volunteers have this check in place. In the instance that you are a registered teacher with the VIT and although you are not required to have a WWCC it is necessary to notify Working with Children Check Victoria that you volunteer at St Jude’s Parish.

Another requirement is to read the “Safeguarding Children & Young People Code of Conduct Declaration”, sign and return the ‘Code of Conduct’ to the parish office at your earliest convenience.

Copies can be found at the exit points of the Church or by phoning the Parish Office. Could you please write on the document the name(s) of the group(s) you participate in, for example, reader/cleaner etc. by doing so this will make it easier to categories the parish groups and ensure our parish data base is accurate.

Please do not hesitate to contact the office on 9763 7302 if you need any clarification regarding either matter from Tuesday to Friday between 9am-3.30pm.

Thank you to all our volunteers for your commitment to our parish and for your continued support.