Safeguarding Research
Explore evidence-based research, reports and literature reviews that inform safeguarding, abuse prevention, child-safe organisations and organisational culture.
Safeguarding in Australian Churches (2026)
Researchers Kelsey Fitz-Gerald and Miriam Pepper from NCLS Research draw on the 2016 and 2021 National Church Life Surveys to examine safeguarding across Australian churches. The report explores the quality of safeguarding policies and complaint procedures, awareness of how to report concerns, Safe Churches training, and churchgoers’ views of church responses to clergy sexual abuse. It identifies progress in formal safeguards and leadership awareness, alongside gaps in churchgoers’ knowledge and the continuing impact of abuse on confidence in church authorities.
"Just tick the box and move on": Australian Christian religious leaders reflect on safeguarding practices in their settings (2025)
Researchers Gabby Hunt, Daryl Higgins and M. L. Willis from Australian Catholic University interviewed 20 Australian Christian religious leaders to explore the strengths and limitations of safeguarding practices in religious settings. The study identifies progress in leadership, policy and practice, alongside cultural resistance, power dynamics, resource constraints and compliance-focused approaches that can impede meaningful change.
Child-Safe Practices Using Contextual Safeguarding Strategies (2024)
Researchers Daryl Higgins and Douglas Russell from the Institute of Child Protection Studies at Australian Catholic University, with Nadine McKillop and Susan Rayment-McHugh from the University of the Sunshine Coast, examined environmental and situational approaches to child abuse prevention. The project assessed how factors such as physical environments, routine activities, policies and organisational culture shape risk, and explored which contextual prevention strategies work, in what circumstances and where they have the greatest impact.
Abuse Prevention Through Culture Change and Organisational Development (2024)
Funded by the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse, this project was led by Kooyoora’s Strategy and Quality team, with support from Glasshouse Safeguarding and the Institute of Child Protection Studies at Australian Catholic University. A comprehensive literature review, lived-experience consultation and sector expertise informed the development of psychological safety principles and practical tools to help organisations identify cultural risks and plan for cultural and systemic improvement.
The Role of Organisational Culture in Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Contexts (2016)
Commissioned by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, this report by Donald Palmer, Valerie Feldman and Gemma McKibbin examines how organisational culture can contribute to child sexual abuse in institutional settings. Drawing on research and institutional case studies, it explores how leadership, power, shared values, assumptions and organisational priorities can enable abuse, delay its detection and weaken responses. The report also considers the cultural conditions needed to support prevention and lasting organisational change.
Risk Profiles for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (2016)
Commissioned and funded by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, this literature review by Keith Kaufman, Marcus Erooga and colleagues examines the individual, organisational and environmental factors associated with child sexual abuse in institutions. It explores how characteristics of perpetrators, organisational cultures, physical environments and everyday practices can combine to create opportunities for abuse, and identifies risk factors that organisations can consider when they assess vulnerabilities and develop prevention strategies.
Creating Child Safe Institutions (2016)
Developed by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, this research report draws on Australian and international evidence, institutional case studies and consultation with 40 child-safety experts to identify the essential elements of a child-safe institution. It examines the organisational culture, leadership, policies and practices required to prevent harm, listen to children and respond effectively to concerns. The findings helped shape the Child Safe Standards and continue to provide an important foundation for child-safe organisational practice.
Taking Us Seriously: Children and Young People Talk About Safety and Institutional Responses to Their Safety Concerns (2015)
Commissioned and funded by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, this research by Tim Moore, Morag McArthur, Debbie Noble-Carr and Deborah Harcourt explored how children and young people understand and experience safety in institutional settings. Based on focus groups with 121 children and young people aged 4 to 18, the report examines what helps them feel safe, what causes concern and how they want adults and institutions to respond. The findings emphasise trusted adults, safe environments, meaningful participation and responses that listen to children, acknowledge their concerns and take appropriate action.