Statement of Commitment to Child Safety

Warning: Images of deceased persons may appear | See the Yuwaalaraay / Gamilaraay pronunciation guide here

an image that signifies how DEG loves the children of Walgett

At its meeting of the 29 August 2025, the Elders Council made its Statement of Commitment to Child Safety:

"At Dharriwaa Elders Group every child has the right to be safe and feel safe. We commit to the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care.

To keep children safe, we commit to:

• implementing the 10 Child Safe Standards
• providing a safe and supportive environment for all children
• making sure that children are not exposed to any form of harmful conduct or abuse
• empowering children to participate in decisions that affect them and share any concerns they may have
• making sure children know who to approach if they feel unsafe or have any child safety concerns.

As a child safe organisation, we commit to:

• educating everyone involved in our organisation about what it means to be a child safe organisation, so that we can prevent, detect and effectively respond to child abuse
• making sure everyone involved in our organisation knows how to appropriately respond to complaints, allegations, disclosures and breaches to our Child Safe Code of Conduct
• welcoming feedback to continuously improve our child safe policies, procedures and practices
• making sure that when family and community members interact with our organisation, they are aware that child safety is everyone’s responsibility, and their behaviour aligns with our child safe practices."

At the same meeting the Elders Council resolved to review and ensure that all policies and procedures are updated to reflect Child Safe principles and to ensure that the organisation complies with requirements under the Child Protection (Working With Children) Act 2012 NSW. This review is underway.

Yuwaya Ngarrali has made significant progress and impact in relation to its community-led model of diversion from the criminal justice system. The Two River Pathway to Change model was developed, tested, documented and refined during the evaluated period of 2020-2023, informed by international evidence and local priorities that gives simultaneous attention and strategies at the systemic, community and individual level to effect change. As a result we have seen the KPI of less than 10% of Aboriginal children & young people appearing in the Children’s Court exceeded, with recent available data indicating it to be 7.8% (a figure we will be able to track and measure more precisely in the future with our own linked dataset).

The Evaluation shows DEG providing direct assistance to 144 Aboriginal community members around criminal justice-related matters, including 17 young people provided intensive support by the Youth Team; 14 young people and 19 adults assisted by the Community Troubleshooter Team; and 94 clients of the Dealing with Fines Team.

The Two River Pathway to Change model has enabled an effective community-led approach customised to the Walgett context that gives necessary simultaneous attention and strategies at the systemic, community and individual level to effect change.

The work to date provides evidence of the effectiveness of an ACCO-led model of diversion. We have also learnt that there are many more young people in Walgett needing intensive and holistic support and that this is not a model that DEG can deliver solely at the scale and depth that is required, but is ideally placed to build based on its expertise and relationships with other ACCOs and relevant agencies in Walgett due to the Two River Pathway to Change model and the trust from young people, their families and community.

All that we have learned has underpinned the development of a new Walgett Youth Wellbeing Service and Accommodation which provides an innovative model of collaboration between DEG, Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service and the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT that will respond to one of the nation’s most pressing human rights and policy challenges. In early 2025 the Youth Wellbeing Service has trialled 5 activities and made 3 funding submissions to build and operate the service that we know is needed. Until funds are received our core philanthropic funds support the Wellbeing Lead Loretta Weatherall and other core Yuwaya Ngarrali - DEG staff to trial program activities, with the support of the Yuwaya Ngarrali - UNSW coaches and collaborators.