At Disability Commissioner Tasmania, our job is to you as keep children and young people with disability safe. We will always:

• Listen to you and treat you with respect.
• Be fair by considering all points of view, including yours.
• Tell the right people to help you if you are unsafe.
• Work with you to understand how you would like to communicate with us and what makes you feel safe.
• Communicate in a way that is easy for you to understand.
• Tell you about any decisions we make about reports you have made to us.
• All children and young people equally and won't show favouritism.
• Make sure our office is safe for you to visit.
• Keep your information private and safe.
• Answer any questions you have.
• Make sure everyone working at Disability Commissioner Tasmania has a working with vulnerable person’s check.

We will listen to any experience that hurt you or made you feel unsafe. Some behaviours are against the law, and we will respond straight away when we hear of them.

Here are some examples of behaviours from adults that are not ok:

• Grooming: Trying to be friends to build a 'special' relationship, giving gifts, touching inappropriately, or asking to keep secrets.
• Neglect: Neglect happens when your caregivers do not do things that you need and it hurts you. This can include not giving you food or water, not taking you to the doctors if you need it, not letting you go to school or leaving you on your own for very long periods of time if you do not have the skills to look after yourself and keep yourself safe. Neglect is something that usually happens more than once.
• Spending time with you outside of work or school: If an adult doesn’t have a reason to spend time with you outside of work or school and it is not a usual thing for you or your family to spend time with them, then socialising outside of work or school can be something to worry about. Adults should not invite children or young people to their home or visiting you at home or school without a reason or without another trusted adult present.
• Romantic (like a boyfriend or girlfriend) or Sexual Relationships: An adult having any romantic or sexual relationship with someone they were responsible for as a child or young person until two years after they turn 18. An adult having a sexual relationship with anyone who is under the age of consent. In Tasmania you cannot consent to sexual behaviour with an adult until you are 17 years old.

The following behaviours are not ok from anyone, including from children, young people, and adults:

• Sexual Actions: Interacting with a child or young person in a sexual way, asking a child or young person to do something sexual, or sharing inappropriate pictures.
• Sexual Behaviour: Touching in a way that feels wrong, talking about sexual things, making sexual comments or jokes or actions.
• Physical Violence: Hitting, punching, kicking, pushing, spitting, threatening to hurt or physically harming your body or person property. For example, using an implement to hit or burn you or putting holes in walls/damaging your disability aids.
• Hurting their feelings or emotions: This can sometimes be called emotional abuse. Emotional abuse can include Ignoring you, deliberately scaring you, yelling at you when you have asked for it to stop, swearing at you, bullying, or using things about yourself that you can’t change, like your disability, to make you feel ashamed or guilty. Emotional abuse is not the same as disagreeing with an adult about how to make decisions or what decisions should be made.

• Inappropriate Use of Electronic Communication and Social Media: Sharing contact details without your consent or a professional reason, sending inappropriate messages, or posting pictures without permission. It can also include using electronic devices like mobile phones or social media to continue to contact you or say things that upset you without your consent or after you have asked someone to stop.

If you ever feel uncomfortable or unsafe because of someone's behaviour, it's important to tell someone you trust so they can help you.

If we believe or suspect you or another child or young personis at risk of or has experienced any of the behaviours listed above, we will tell people who can help. We will do this even if you don’t want us to because it is the law. These people may be:

• Strong Families, Safe Kids Advice and Referral Line: Where trained staff listen and assess what support is needed. They may connect families with services or, if there are serious safety concerns, talk to Child Protection or police to help keep children safe.

• Police: This includes Tasmania Police, police from other states, and federal police.
• The Independent Regulator: They make sure places like schools, government organisations, and clubs keep children and young people safe. They help these places do better and check if there's a risk of harm.
• Registrar for Working with Vulnerable People: They make sure people who work with children and young people are safe to do so.

Most of the time when we report, we will tell you we are talking to and what we are telling them. There might be sometimes where we are unable to give you all of this information because it would make you unsafe if we did or because the law requires us not to.

We also can investigate some situations ourselves. If we do this, we will talk to you first, and keep you updated along the way. This process may involve talking to others about your experience. If so, we will talk to you and your parent or guardian first.

If you have any questions or suggestions for us, please ask us at any time. We can be contacted at:

• Email: contact@disabilitycommissioner.tas.gov.au
• Phone: 1800 179 249
• Any contact method listed on our Contact Us page.

If you feel unsafe at any time when talking to us, please let us know. You can also tell us by making a complaint. You can complain to us by calling 1800 179 249, emailing contact@disabilitycommisioner.tas.gov.au or submitting an enquiry on our website. If you have done this and are still concerned, you can also make a complaint to the Ombudsman. You can do this without including your name on the Ombudsman Tasmania website or by calling 1800 001 170.

If you are in immediate danger, please talk to an adult you trust and ask them to help you to contact the Police on 000 or 131 444.

Our job is to look into situations where someone might be in danger and to tell the right people who can help stop the bad behaviour. We can't help you directly, but we want you to get the support you need.

If you or someone you know needs more help, please talk to someone you trust. Some organisations are listed below. There are more, including support for parents and caregivers, in our Find Help page.

• Kid's helpline: You can call this number anytime if you feel scared or need someone to talk to about any problem. Friendly counsellors are there to help you. Call 1800 55 1800.
• Headspace: This is a place where you can talk to someone if you're feeling sad, worried, or unsafe. They can help you feel better and safe. Call 1800 650 890, open 9 am to 1 am.
• 13YARN: This helpline is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who need support. They can help with lots of different problems to make sure you feel safe. Call 13 92 76.
• QLife: A service that provides free, anonymous, and private support for LGBTQIA+ people, available via phone or web chat. They are available from 3pm to midnight every day and can be contacted on 1800 184 527.