At the Good Samaritan Aid Society (GSAS) the care and protection of children and vulnerable adult beneficiaries is our main priority. It is the focus of our work with our global communities and our advocacy on behalf of all children, the most vulnerable.

We take our responsibility to protect those we work with seriously. We have extensive Children Protection policies and protocols in place to ensure children and communities are safe. We condemn all forms of exploitation or abuse of both children and adults and have a zero-tolerance policy of incidents of violence, especially towards children.

GSAS is compliant with the mandatory reporting requirements by the Australian Government Child Protection laws. All GSAS staff and volunteers must by law report any alleged child protection incidents and/or breaches.

Our humanitarian aid is carried out with humanity, dignity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. This includes avoiding exposing people to harm through our humanitarian aid.

GSAS has comprehensive policies and practices in place to protect its recipients when local partners/volunteers provide aid/relief. Our standard practice is to obtain police checks for all staff and volunteers before their onboarding and before they distribute aid. In circumstances where police checks cannot be obtained, volunteers or new staff must adhere to the requirements put forth by GSAS to comply with best practices.

New GSAS staff and volunteers will be required to undertake onboarding and orientation in GSAS policies and protocols, as well as a National Police Check and Working with Children Check (or State equivalent). All GSAS staff and volunteers must agree to observe those policies and understand the disciplinary consequences for any policy and/or protocol violations.

Key policies and protocols consist of the GSAS Safeguarding of Children and Adults policy. Additional screening measures, such as behavioural-based interview questions are used when recruiting for positions that involve working directly with children.

Protocols manage how photos and video recordings of sponsored children, adults (and in some cases, families) are used, and letters are opened and vetted.

If you have any further questions, please contact us at info@gsas.org.au, or call us on 1800 12 4357.