Our Commitment to Child Safety
At Voyager Tennis, the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of children and young people is a fundamental priority.
We are committed to providing environments where children and young people feel safe, respected, included and supported while participating in tennis, pickleball, padel, coaching, competitions, camps, events and other Voyager activities.
Voyager Tennis is committed to implementing the NSW Child Safe Standards and maintaining a culture where child safety is everyone’s responsibility.
We have zero tolerance for child abuse, grooming, neglect, harassment, bullying, discrimination or any behaviour that places a child or young person at risk of harm.
For the purposes of this policy, a child or young person is anyone under 18 years of age.
1. Our Child Safe Principles
Voyager Tennis is committed to:
- putting the safety and wellbeing of children first;
- treating children and young people with dignity and respect;
- listening to children and taking their concerns seriously;
- creating an environment where children feel comfortable speaking up;
- involving parents and carers in matters affecting their children;
- providing inclusive programs where children from all backgrounds and abilities are welcomed and supported;
- maintaining clear professional boundaries between staff and children;
- recruiting, screening, training and supporting suitable people to work with children;
- identifying and managing child-safety risks in our physical and online environments;
- responding appropriately to concerns, complaints, disclosures and allegations; and
- continually reviewing and improving our child-safety practices.
2. The NSW Child Safe Standards
Voyager Tennis supports and implements the NSW Child Safe Standards across our operations.
These Standards require organisations working with children to:
- Embed child safety in organisational leadership, governance and culture.
- Ensure children participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
- Keep families and communities informed and involved.
- Uphold equity and take diverse needs into account.
- Ensure people working with children are suitable and supported.
- Maintain child-focused processes for responding to complaints and concerns.
- Equip staff with the knowledge, skills and awareness required to keep children safe.
- Ensure physical and online environments minimise opportunities for abuse or harm.
- Continuously review and improve implementation of child-safe practices.
- Maintain policies and procedures documenting how the organisation keeps children safe.
3. Creating a Safe and Inclusive Environment
Everyone participating in Voyager Tennis activities has the right to feel safe, welcome and respected.
Voyager employees, coaches, contractors and volunteers are expected to:
- treat children fairly and respectfully;
- promote equality and inclusion;
- recognise and respond appropriately to children’s individual needs;
- use appropriate and respectful language;
- create positive and encouraging learning environments;
- avoid favouritism, humiliation, intimidation, punishment or exclusion;
- maintain appropriate professional boundaries;
- respond appropriately if a child indicates that they feel unsafe or uncomfortable; and
- report child-safety concerns in accordance with Voyager’s safeguarding and reporting procedures.
Particular consideration will be given to children who may experience increased vulnerability or have additional communication, accessibility, cultural or support needs.
4. Professional Boundaries
Voyager employees, coaches, contractors and volunteers must maintain appropriate professional boundaries with children at all times.
Interactions with children should have a legitimate coaching, operational, wellbeing or customer-service purpose.
Staff must not:
- engage in sexual, romantic or otherwise inappropriate relationships with children;
- engage in grooming behaviour;
- make sexualised comments or jokes;
- unnecessarily discuss intimate or highly personal matters with children;
- show inappropriate favouritism or give inappropriate personal gifts;
- deliberately create unnecessary situations where they are isolated with a child;
- communicate privately with children through personal social-media accounts or other unauthorised channels;
- make physical contact by touching of clients & colleagues for technique improvements or for sinister reasons which would make someone uncomfortable
- engage in behaviour that could reasonably be considered abusive, intimidating, discriminatory, humiliating or exploitative.
5. Photography, Video and Recording Devices
Voyager recognises that photography and video may be used legitimately for coaching, promotion, events and other authorised business purposes. However, protecting children’s privacy and safety is paramount.
Images, video or audio of children must only be captured, stored or used in accordance with Voyager’s authorised processes and applicable consent and privacy statements and policies.
Employees, coaches, contractors and volunteers must not use personal devices to photograph, film or record children for personal purposes.
Wearable or discreet recording technology—including smart glasses or other camera-enabled wearable devices—must not be used to photograph, film or record children during Voyager activities unless expressly authorised by Voyager for a legitimate business purpose and appropriate consent and safeguards are in place. Staff are not permitted to wear smart glasses while delivering coaching of children, whether there be any recording happening or not.
Voyager expects all staff to respect the privacy of children and families at our venues.
6. Online and Electronic Communication
Communication with children must remain professional and related to legitimate Voyager activities.
Where practicable, communications relating to junior participants should occur through Voyager-approved communication channels and/or involve a parent or carer.
Staff must not use private communications, social media or other electronic platforms to develop inappropriate personal relationships with children.
The same standards of professional behaviour that apply in person also apply online.
7. Transport and One-to-One Situations
Staff should avoid situations where they are unnecessarily isolated with a child.
Voyager staff must not transport a child alone in a private vehicle as part of their Voyager duties unless specifically authorised by Voyager and appropriate parent/carer consent and safeguards are in place.
Coaching environments should, wherever reasonably practicable, remain observable and accessible to others.
8. Recruitment, Working With Children Checks and Training
Voyager is committed to ensuring that people working with children are suitable and appropriately supported.
This includes:
- requiring Working With Children Checks where applicable;
- verifying required Working With Children Checks;
- considering child safety during recruitment and selection;
- communicating Voyager’s child-safety expectations during induction;
- providing appropriate safeguarding information and training; and
- ensuring staff understand their responsibility to identify, respond to and report child-safety concerns.
Child safety remains an ongoing responsibility throughout a person’s engagement with Voyager.
9. Children Have the Right to Speak Up
Voyager wants every child to know that they have the right to feel safe.
Children are encouraged to tell a parent, coach, Voyager staff member or another trusted adult if:
- something makes them feel uncomfortable;
- they feel unsafe;
- someone is treating them or another child inappropriately;
- they are being bullied or harassed;
- they are worried about something they have seen or heard; or
- they believe another child may need help.
Children who raise concerns will be listened to and taken seriously.
No child should be disadvantaged, punished or treated differently because they have raised a genuine safety concern or complaint.
10. Parents, Carers and Families
Parents and carers play an important role in maintaining child-safe environments.
Voyager encourages parents and carers to:
- talk to their children about their experiences at Voyager;
- encourage their children to speak up if something makes them uncomfortable;
- raise concerns with Voyager;
- provide relevant information that may assist us in supporting their child; and
- familiarise themselves with Voyager’s child-safety expectations.
We welcome questions and feedback from families about our approach to child safety.
11. Reporting a Child-Safety Concern
Voyager encourages children, parents, carers, employees and members of the community to report any child-safety concern.
Concerns may relate to the behaviour of a Voyager employee, coach, contractor, volunteer, another participant or any other person interacting with a child through a Voyager activity.
Reports will be treated seriously and handled sensitively.
Where a concern relates to a particular employee or manager, families are not required to raise the matter directly with that person and may escalate the concern to another appropriate Voyager manager or nominated Child Safety/Safeguarding Contact.
Where required, Voyager will report matters to relevant external authorities and cooperate with any investigation or regulatory process.
If a child is believed to be in immediate danger, contact emergency services by calling 000.
Voyager Child Safety / Safeguarding Contact
Name/Position: Scott Leith – Operations Manager
Email: scott.l@voyagertennis.com
Phone: 0421642585
12. Responding to Concerns and Complaints
Voyager will respond to child-safety concerns in a manner that prioritises the safety and wellbeing of children.
Depending on the circumstances, this may include:
- ensuring the immediate safety of the child;
- listening to and documenting the concern;
- escalating the matter internally;
- managing any immediate risk;
- preserving relevant information and records;
- notifying parents or carers where appropriate;
- reporting the matter to external authorities where required;
- cooperating with investigations; and
- taking appropriate action in relation to employees, contractors or volunteers.
Voyager will respect privacy and confidentiality while recognising that information may need to be shared with appropriate people or authorities to protect a child or comply with legal obligations.
13. Staff Code of Conduct
Voyager employees, coaches, contractors and volunteers are required to comply with Voyager’s Code of Conduct and child-safeguarding requirements.
Our Code of Conduct establishes behavioural expectations including:
- respectful and inclusive communication;
- professional relationships and boundaries;
- appropriate physical contact;
- appropriate communication with children and families;
- responsible use of technology and social media;
- safe coaching practices;
- appropriate conduct at Voyager events;
- reporting concerns; and
- zero tolerance for bullying, harassment, discrimination, abuse, grooming or other inappropriate behaviour.
Breaches of Voyager’s Code of Conduct or child-safety requirements may result in disciplinary or other action and, where appropriate or required, referral to relevant authorities.
14. Continuous Improvement
Child safety is an ongoing responsibility.
Voyager will regularly review its child-safety policies, procedures, training, incidents, complaints and risk controls to identify opportunities for improvement.
Feedback from children, families, staff and the Voyager community will be considered as part of this process.
Our Commitment
Every child participating in a Voyager Tennis activity has the right to feel safe, respected, included and heard.
Creating a child-safe organisation is a shared responsibility. Voyager Tennis expects everyone representing our organisation to contribute to an environment where children’s safety and wellbeing always come first.
Policy owner: Scott Leith
Approved by: Ryan Henry
Effective date: 1/10/2026
Next review date: 01/10/2027
Version: 2.0