By Kim Porter. Creating safer environments for children and young people requires more than just policies and protocols, it demands innovative, out-of-the-box thinking. By embracing creative solutions and fostering collaborative and interactive brainstorming, we uncover transformative approaches that go beyond the obvious, building cultures of safety, trust, and resilience. Could creativity be the missing piece in safeguarding? Read about the Kooyoora method and test it with what are " 50 ways to use a dried-up pen"

National Reconciliation Week invites all Australians to reflect honestly on past and present harms, and on our shared responsibility for change. Reconciliation is inseparable from our purpose. Our work exists because institutions sometimes failed to listen, failed to act, and failed to protect people from harm. This reflection explores how reconciliation challenges us to examine power, centre voices that have been historically excluded, and ensure our work is experienced as fair, culturally safe and worthy of trust, recognising that this commitment requires ongoing humility, accountability and care.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse brought national attention to issues of abuse, power and accountability within institutions. For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, these findings reflected long‑standing experiences of harm, silencing and exclusion from decision‑making. This piece explores how historical and ongoing power imbalances continue to affect trust in institutions, and why listening to First Nations voices is essential to building safer, more accountable systems.

As National Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June) invites Australians to reflect on our shared history, Kooyoora’s CEO Fiona Boyle considers what reconciliation means in the context of safeguarding, integrity and accountability. In this update, Fiona reinforces the importance of listening with humility, learning through respectful engagement, and recognising that safety includes cultural, emotional and psychological dimensions. Read the full report.

2026 has started at a fast pace, with demand for Kooyoora’s services reflecting not only our role as a trusted independent body but also the pressures felt across communities. This report shares the key developments over the past few months, including new strategic partnerships, improvements to our systems and training, the launch of Te Pae Whaiti in New Zealand, preparations for our second accreditation, the welcoming of new Professional Standards Volunteers and Board members and more.

Kooyoora Team Spotlight – Get to know the people behind our work as they share insights into their roles, interests, and some fun facts. Meet Adam..

This article explains how independent scrutiny in safeguarding works and why it should never be seen as an endorsement. Oversight provides objective assessment, identifies strengths and gaps, and supports improvement, without guaranteeing safety or offering reputational cover, ensuring accountability remains at the heart of safeguarding practice.

We’re excited to share the Protective Behaviours Box, a thoughtfully curated kit by the Anglican Diocese of Bendigo, created specifically for faith communities to help children, young people and communities engage in meaningful conversations and activities that promote loving, safe and confident spaces.

Cultural safety is central to trust, access and justice, and remains critical to Kooyoora’s safeguarding work. As part of this commitment, CEO Fiona Boyle participated in the Victorian Provincial Walkabout 2025, an eight day journey created by the Anglican Church to deepen understanding of Victoria’s colonial history and the ongoing impacts on First Peoples. This followed Kooyoora’s participation in a previous Walkabout held in the Northern Territory in 2024. The 2025 journey, organised by Reverend Canon Shannon Smith and Ken Hutton, executive officer to the Archbishop of Melbourne, was undertaken in response to the work of the Yoorrook Justice Commission and supports deeper learning through place-based engagement, community connection and truth telling.

In 2025, the Kooyoora team spent a significant amount of time on the road, travelling across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific to meet with the people we serve. From major cities to regional and remote communities, staff travelled thousands of kilometres to sit face to face with individuals seeking redress, deliver training, attend conferences and take part in key gatherings across church and community sectors. Our 2025 Kooyoora Staff Travel Map shows the breadth of this work and the many places where conversations, learning and trust building took place throughout the year.

As 2025 comes to a close, Kooyoora reflects on an extraordinary quarter of connection, growth and impact. From synod engagements across multiple dioceses to welcoming new client organisations, presenting on governance and safeguarding, and deepening our cultural safety work in Australia, New Zealand and Polynesia, it has been a period of significant achievements.

Read the full CEO report to explore our work in detail, including key initiatives, organisational priorities and our vision for 2026

Changes to social media age requirements came into effect on 10 December, restricting under-16s from creating or maintaining accounts on major platforms. These changes affect how many organisations communicate with young people online. To support organisations in responding to this shift, Kooyoora has developed a practical fact sheet outlining what the new regulations mean and how to apply safe, transparent communication practices. The resource includes clear guidelines, consent considerations, case studies, and tools to help organisations navigate digital communication with confidence.

Creating a child-safe culture requires more than policies and compliance; it involves a deliberate shift in how organisations think, act, and support the children in their care. This article explores a practical framework built on three elements: Mindset, Skillset and Toolset, and shows how each one contributes to a genuinely preventative culture. To help organisations put these ideas into practice, we have also developed Listen Up: A Guide to Supporting Children’s Voices and Strengthening Your Organisational Culture, a practical resource with strategies and tools to help you build an environment where children are truly heard.

Kooyoora Team Spotlight – Get to know the people behind our work as they share insights into their roles, interests, and some fun facts. Meet Mandy..

As the festive season approaches, organisations are often caught up in planning end of year functions, finalising projects, and setting the stage for the new year. While these events offer a chance to celebrate achievements and foster connection, they also present unique challenges, particularly around safeguarding, workplace conduct, and support for individuals affected by trauma. The holiday period can be a time of heightened stress and reflection, and it’s essential for organisations to take proactive steps to create a safe, respectful, and supportive environment.

We examine the childcare crisis in Victoria, sparked by serious abuse allegations, and reveal how gaps in oversight, fragmented regulations, and workforce pressures leave children at risk. We show that relying on Working With Children Checks alone is not enough, and that true safeguarding requires prevention, early intervention, transparent responses, and a culture where staff feel empowered to speak up. We also draw lessons for other sectors supporting vulnerable people, demonstrating how organisations can strengthen trust, accountability, and safety through proactive, culturally embedded practices.

Kim Porter (Kooyoora Investigator) explores how standard hiring practices in childcare and youth services often overlook the qualities that truly safeguard children. Routine interview questions tend to invite rehearsed responses, rather than revealing a candidate’s capacity for empathy, ethical decision-making, and accountability. By shifting to behaviour-based questions that probe for these deeper qualities, organisations can move beyond compliance and begin building a culture of safety where staff are empowered to speak up, collaborate, and prioritise the wellbeing of every child.

We speak with Gabby Hunt about her research into safeguarding practices within Australian faith-based organisations. Gabby’s research paper, "Just tick the box and move on": Australian Christian religious leaders reflect on safeguarding practices in their settings, examines how safeguarding is understood, operationalised, and embedded into the policies and practices of religious organisations. In this interview, Gabby shares insights from her research that are directly relevant for organisations like Kooyoora, reflecting on the barriers leaders face, the cultural shifts needed for authentic safeguarding, and the practices that can help faith-based communities embed child safety at the core of their mission.

This article explores why listening to children is central to effective safeguarding. Drawing on research and expert insights, it shows that children’s perspectives are often overlooked in protective interventions, leading to support that may be ineffective or even harmful. Experts like Dr. Wendy Bunston OAM highlight how even very young children communicate complex needs through subtle cues, while reports from the Australian Institute of Family Studies emphasise the value of integrating children’s voices into decision-making.

Kooyoora Team Spotlight – Get to know the people behind our work as they share insights into their roles, interests, and some fun facts. Meet our CEO Fiona Boyle.