Supporting safe, ethical, and transparent recruitment practice in all ELC and OOSH settings.
Recruitment is one of the most important child safe decisions a service makes. Every educator who joins a team contributes to the culture, safety, and wellbeing of children and young people.
The Child Safe Recruitment Companion is a practical and supportive professional resource designed to help leaders strengthen recruitment processes, build confidence in decision making, and embed child safe expectations from the very beginning of employment.
Developed for early learning services and OOSH environments, this companion supports leaders to connect recruitment practice with the evolving child safe reforms across the National Quality Framework, the Child Safe Standards, and current regulatory expectations.
Rather than providing policies or procedures, this companion focuses on supporting understanding, consistency, reflective practice, and leadership judgement across the recruitment journey.
How this companion supports child safe recruitment practice
With recent child safe reforms across the education and care sector, recruitment and workforce suitability are receiving greater attention from regulatory authorities and Authorised Officers.
Services are increasingly expected to demonstrate:
- how recruitment decisions prioritise child safety and wellbeing
- how suitability is considered beyond screening checks
- how induction introduces professional boundaries and reporting responsibilities
- how leaders monitor suitability over time
- how recruitment documentation supports transparency and accountability
This companion supports leaders to approach recruitment as a child safe safeguard, not simply an administrative process.
What’s Inside the Child Safe Recruitment Companion
This companion is organised into eleven professional learning modules that guide leaders through recruitment practice from workforce planning through to induction, culture, and continuous improvement
What this companion supports
This resource guides leaders through the full recruitment journey, including:
- Workforce planning and role clarity
- Child safe job advertisements and recruitment language
- Phone screening and interview processes
- Reference checks and suitability considerations
- Recruitment integrity documentation
- Child safe induction foundations
- Ongoing suitability monitoring and supervision
- Leadership reflection and recruitment improvement
Each module connects recruitment decisions to child safe culture, leadership responsibility, and continuous improvement.
Companion resource documents (editable templates)
This companion includes practical recruitment tools designed to support documentation consistency and reflective practice.
- Child Safe Recruitment Checklist
- Job Advertisement Child Safe Commitment Statement
- Phone Screening Questions Template
- Interview Questions Template
- Reference Check Questions Template
- Recruitment Integrity Record
- Child Safe Recruitment Declaration
- Induction Child Safety Checklist
- Negative Notice Response Template
Templates are provided as adaptable examples to support services in strengthening recruitment practice within their own policies and procedures.
Designed for
This companion is suitable for:
- Approved Providers
- Nominated Supervisors
- Centre Directors
- Educational Leaders
- Service Managers
- HR or recruitment delegates
- Leadership teams preparing for Assessment and Rating
It is also suitable for induction and professional development conversations about recruitment, suitability, and child safe culture.
How this resource can be used
Services may use this companion to:
- review recruitment processes
- support leadership training
- strengthen induction practices
- prepare for Assessment and Rating conversations
- support documentation consistency across services
- embed child safe recruitment culture across teams
Modules may be used individually or as a complete professional learning resource.
Important note
This companion is a guidance and training resource only.
It does not replace legal, industrial, human resources, or regulatory advice.
Services remain responsible for ensuring recruitment practices meet legislative and regulatory requirements in their state or territory.
The Child Safe Recruitment Companion
What’s Included:
The companion includes:
- 11 professional learning modules
- Recruitment reflection prompts and leadership discussion questions
- Authorised Officer conversation preparation examples
- Recruitment integrity and decision-making guidance
- Induction as a child safe safeguard content
- Common mistakes and learning points in recruitment
- Family facing transparency statement
The modules include:
Module 1 – Why Child Safe Recruitment Matters
Understanding recruitment as a child safe safeguard.Module 2 – Understanding Roles and Responsibilities
Clarifying leadership roles in recruitment decisions.Module 3 – Child Safe Recruitment Framework
Mapping recruitment practice from workforce planning to induction.Module 4 – Policy Guidance
Supporting policy understanding and alignment with recruitment practice.Module 5 – Practical Recruitment Tools
Supporting consistent recruitment documentation and processes.Module 6 – Managing Concerns and Red Flags
Responding thoughtfully to recruitment concerns.Module 7 – Induction as a Child Safe Safeguard
Embedding child safe expectations from the beginning.Module 8 – Embedding Child Safe Culture Beyond Induction
Supporting ongoing suitability and safe practice.Module 9 – Authorised Officer Conversations
Building confidence in recruitment practice.Module 10 – Common Mistakes and Pitfalls (What They Teach Us)
Learning from experience to strengthen recruitment practice.Module 11 – Reflection, Audit, and Continuous Improvement
Strengthening recruitment practice through reflection and review.File Format:
- High-quality PDF + editable Word documents
- A4 layout, ready to print or share digitally
- Instant download - no physical product will be shipped
Terms of Use:
- For individual educator, classroom, or single service use only
- Not for resale, redistribution, or commercial use
- Copyright © Educator Essentials 2026
- Contact Educator Essentials for licensing inquiries for multi-site or school-wide use
