Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 - SECT 5

Principles for children

5. Principles for children



(1) The development and provision of services for children and families should
be based upon the fundamental principles that-

   (a)  society as a whole shares responsibility for promoting the wellbeing
        and safety of children;

   (b)  all children should be given the opportunity to reach their full
        potential and participate in society irrespective of their family
        circumstances and background;

   (c)  those who develop and provide services, as well as parents, should
        give the highest priority to the promotion and protection of a child's
        safety, health, development, education and wellbeing;





   (d)  parents are the primary nurturers of a child and Government
        intervention into family life should be limited to that necessary to
        secure the child's safety and wellbeing, however, it is the
        responsibility of Government to meet the needs of the child when the
        child's family is unable to provide adequate care and protection;

   (e)  every child should be able to enrol in a kindergarten program at an
        early childhood education and care centre.

(2) Services for children and families should be designed and developed-

   (a)  to readily identify harm and damage to the child and to provide for
        intervention by providers of services to remove or ameliorate the
        causes of that harm or damage and to strengthen the capacity and
        efforts of parents, their families and communities to support the
        child as early as possible in the child's life;

   (b)  to accord with the needs of each local community with the active
        involvement of that community's cultural groups, and to be accessible
        and responsive to the particular cultures, languages and circumstances
        of the community and to be properly planned and co-ordinated with
        services provided by other local and regional communities;

   (c)  to give the highest priority to making appropriate and sufficient
        levels of assistance available to children and families in communities
        or population groups that are known to have the greatest need;



   (d)  to promote continuous improvement in the quality of those services,
        based on the best available knowledge of the needs of children and
        their stages of development.

(3) The providers of services to children and families should-

   (a)  protect the rights of children and families and, to the greatest
        extent possible, encourage their participation in any decision-making
        that affects their lives;

   (b)  acknowledge and be respectful of the child's individual identity,
        circumstances and cultural identity and be responsive to the
        particular needs of the child;

   (c)  make decisions about intervention by the providers of services into a
        child's or family's life and about access by a child or family to
        those services in a timely manner being mindful of any harmful effects
        that may be caused to the child by a delay in making decisions or
        providing services;

   (d)  ensure that families are made aware of the services available to them
        and of the benefits these services can provide, especially to those
        families in most need of assistance;

   (e)  co-operate with other services or professionals to work in the
        interests of the child and family.

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