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Our Policies

UnitingWorld takes the safety and wellbeing of all people seriously, with special concern to those most vulnerable.

As part of fostering culture and practice that cares for people well, we have a suite of policies that set out how we will do this.

The Professional Conduct Policy sets out our expectations of UnitingWorld Representatives. UnitingWorld Representatives are individuals who are publicly perceived to be working for UnitingWorld. They include but are not limited to the following examples:

  • UnitingWorld staff;
  • Partner staff, including individuals contracted by partners;
  • Board and Committee members;
  • UnitingWorld volunteers/interns
  • Individuals who visit congregations or overseas partners;
  • Contractors.

This policy sets out behavioural expectations which sets standards of behaviour and addresses preventing sexual exploitation and abuse; the protection of children; bullying and harassment; and ethical business practices. The policy is directly linked to our Code of Conduct, which must be signed by all Representatives.

The Safeguarding and Protection Policy (including Child Protection) sets out how UnitingWorld will address harm that exists and arises from the context of our work (‘Protection’), and also how we will endeavour to reduce harm arising from our own activities (‘Safeguarding’), and how we respond to any Safeguarding incidents (especially child protection and sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment).

If you have a safeguarding concern relating to the work of UnitingWorld, either in Australia or overseas, please contact our National Director on 1800 998 122 (toll free within Australia) or +61 2 8267 9735 (from outside Australia) or by mobile/WhatsApp +61 466 266 170 or by email at complaints@unitingworld.org.au.

The Communication and Transparency Policy documents UnitingWorld commitments to transparency, accountability and open communication with all stakeholders.

The Complaints and Incident Handling Policy describes UnitingWorld’s commitment and approach to responding to complaints and enabling issues of safety and wellbeing to be raised and addressed effectively.

The Whistleblower policy sets out mechanisms for escalation of issues if they are not adequately dealt with by other processes.

The Financial Wrongdoing Policy describes UnitingWorld’s commitment and approach to preventing and addressing fraud, corruption, money laundering and risks of terrorism financing.  It is supported by the Uniting Church in Australia’s Assembly Standing Committee’s Fraud Policy.

UnitingWorld also uses the Uniting Church in Australia’s Assembly Standing Committee’s Conflict of Interest Policy and Privacy Policy, which document commitments to arms-length decision-making and the handling of information in line with Australian standards.

UnitingWorld’s approach to the separation of development and non-development activities is documented in the Approach Section of our Governance Framework, part 6.5 under UnitingWorld’s Programming Approach.

These policies form an interlocking web of support for driving professional and compassionate behaviour. They set expectations, drive training and provide the means for transparent accountability when there is a breach.