Child safety and safeguarding consulting
Child-safe systems that work in practice, not just on paper.
The Planning and Practice Hub helps Boards, CEOs and human services leaders build child-safe organisations where governance, policy, workforce systems, service delivery and evidence work together.
Led by Rachel Willis, the Hub brings almost 30 years of child, youth and human services experience, including senior leadership within the NSW Government, commissioning and contracting of community services, child protection and family-service reform, service system design, and executive leadership of frontline community organisations.
This is child safety advice grounded in how services actually operate.
The system view
A child-safe organisation cannot be created through policies alone.
Boards and executives need confidence that child safety is embedded across:
The Planning and Practice Hub helps organisations connect these elements into a practical child safety and safeguarding framework.
The experience behind the advice
Rachel’s experience spans frontline services, senior government leadership, commissioning, contracting, service system reform, executive management and organisational governance.
She has worked across child protection, early intervention, homelessness, youth services, disability, community services and family support.
Rachel has also led service organisations as a CEO and senior executive.
That matters.
Child safety obligations have to work inside real organisations, with staff, volunteers, managers, Boards, budgets, funding contracts, workforce shortages, competing priorities, incidents and complex service environments. The Hub’s approach is therefore practical, proportionate and implementation-focused.
Rachel spent approximately 12 years in senior roles within NSW Family and Community Services and related agencies, including commissioning, planning, partnerships and major human services reform. Her work included major reforms and service systems affecting children, young people and families, including:
This experience provides an understanding not only of regulatory expectations, but also of how government designs, commissions, contracts, monitors and assesses human services.
Child Safe Standards and safeguarding support
The Planning and Practice Hub can support organisations with:
Assessment of existing systems against applicable Child Safe Standards, National Principles and jurisdictional requirements. Reviews examine both documentation and implementation.
Development or redesign of an organisation-wide Child Safety and Safeguarding Framework covering governance, practice, workforce, risk and assurance.
Development and review of policies including:
Policies are mapped to the organisation’s actual services, jurisdiction, workforce and regulatory obligations.
Beyond compliance
Having a child safety policy does not demonstrate that an organisation is child safe. Boards and executives increasingly need to know:
Can we demonstrate that our child-safe systems are actually working?
The Hub applies a Practice Assurance approach that connects:
This can include:
The objective is not simply to demonstrate compliance at a point in time. It is to build an organisation that can continuously see, test and improve its child-safe practice.
One system, many frameworks
Many human services organisations are accountable to more than one regulatory framework. A provider may simultaneously need to meet requirements under:
Building separate systems for every regulator creates duplication and gaps. The Planning and Practice Hub helps organisations identify common obligations and build one integrated practice assurance system. For example, complaints, incident management, risk, recruitment, screening, supervision and governance requirements can often be mapped once and evidenced across multiple frameworks.
Explore Integrated Practice AssuranceGovernance and Board assurance
The Hub works with Boards and executives to clarify:
The aim is to move Board reporting beyond statements such as:
towards meaningful assurance such as:
Workforce systems
Child safety begins well before a worker has contact with a child. The Hub can review and strengthen:
This creates a clear line between recruitment, organisational culture and safe service delivery.
Service design and commissioning expertise
Rachel’s commissioning and government background provides a perspective that extends beyond organisational compliance. Support can include:
For organisations delivering government-funded services, this helps align child safety with broader service and contractual accountability.
Who we work with
Where we work
The Planning and Practice Hub works with organisations across NSW, Queensland and nationally.
Support can be tailored to jurisdiction-specific requirements, including child safe standards, screening, reportable conduct, safeguarding and sector-specific regulatory requirements. For organisations operating across multiple states, the Hub can also build a single national safeguarding framework with jurisdiction-specific schedules and procedures.
Start here
Not sure where the gaps are? A Child Safety Health Check can assess:
The outcome is a prioritised action plan identifying what is in place, what is missing, what needs strengthening, and what should happen first.
Book a Child Safety Health CheckAbout Rachel Willis
Rachel Willis has almost 30 years’ experience across child, youth and community services. Her career has included frontline service delivery, government commissioning and planning, major human services reforms, executive leadership and CEO roles.
She has led and advised organisations operating within complex regulatory environments spanning child protection, homelessness, disability, NDIS, aged care and community services.
Her approach combines regulatory knowledge with practical understanding of how services are actually delivered.
Frequently asked questions
A child safety consultant helps an organisation understand and implement its safeguarding obligations across governance, workforce systems, policies, service delivery, risk management and organisational culture. Effective child safety consulting should examine how systems operate in practice, not simply whether required documents exist.
Yes. Reviews can assess governance, policies, workforce systems, service delivery and evidence against relevant Child Safe Standards, National Principles and jurisdiction-specific requirements.
Yes. The Planning and Practice Hub develops complete child safety and safeguarding policy and procedure frameworks tailored to the organisation’s actual services and regulatory environment.
Yes. The Hub works with organisations operating in child, family, OOHC and other regulated human services environments and can integrate child safety requirements with broader service, quality and funding obligations.
Yes. This is a core area of the Hub’s work. Child safety obligations can be mapped alongside NDIS, ASES, HSQF, OOHC, ACNC, WHS and other requirements through an integrated Practice Assurance framework.
Yes. Governance and executive assurance are central to child safety. Support can include Board reporting frameworks, risk oversight, policy governance, training, assurance systems and executive accountability.
Explore related
Governance and practice support for child and family services.
OOHC licensing, quality and safeguarding requirements.
Test whether safeguarding systems work in practice.
Independent investigations for allegations and misconduct.
If your organisation works with children or young people and you need stronger governance, safeguarding systems, policies, practice or assurance, start with a conversation.
Talk to Rachel about child safety