The Integrity and Professional Standards Team is part of the newly established Integrity and Safeguarding Department of the archdiocese. The team plays an important role in abuse prevention, risk assessment, risk mitigation, and the provision of appropriate protective responses to reports of alleged abuse or misconduct, particularly those relating to children, young people, and adults at risk. 

Its role is to receive, assess, and respond to all reports relating to alleged abuse, harm, or misconduct, both current and historical, within parishes and communities. In this process, the safety and well-being of children, young people, and adults at risk is the priority. 

Key focus areas include:

• the management of current persons of risk within parishes and communities
• the delivery of just, ethical, and sensitive responses to victims and survivors of historical allegations of abuse, and
• the appropriate management of reports relating to current boundary violations.  

All safeguarding-related reports are received and assessed by the team with interventions tailored according to the particular circumstances of each notification. Responses are under-pinned by trauma-informed principles, as well as those relating to procedural fairness and natural justice. The team initiates high-level investigations and undertakes robust risk assessment and risk mitigation interventions where necessary. 

Complaints and allegations are managed through various processes including:

• The National Redress Scheme Homepage | National Redress Scheme
• The National Response Protocol National-Response-Protocol-Version-2.pdf (acsltd.org.au)
• Integrity in our Common Mission Integrity-in-our-Common-Mission-November-2023.pdf (acsltd.org.au)
• Civil litigation

The Catholic Church in Australia and the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide acknowledge with great sorrow the hurt caused by the past abuse of children within the Church and the lifelong impact of this abuse upon victims, survivors, and their families. The Church also deeply regrets past failures to believe and support children and to respond appropriately with a protective focus.  In this spirit, the Integrity and Professional Standards Team is committed to the provision of a just, respectful, and compassionate response to victims and survivors of historical abuse and, importantly, to the prevention of such situations from ever reoccurring in the future.

The Records Service which also sits within the Integrity and Professional Standards team manages applications from former residents of Catholic Institutions (or their lineal descendants), seeking access to their records. This important role within the team assists former residents and their families to access valuable and sometimes sensitive information about their personal histories and stories. Our staff appreciate the sensitivities associated with this work and are committed to providing a response that is thorough, compassionate, and supportive. This service is also extended to supporting the Stolen Generations Redress Scheme.

If you have a query or feedback relating to any of our services or reporting or complaint management, you can telephone us on: 08 8210 8150

If you prefer to send us an email, please contact us using the following email addresses: 

E: receptionprofstandards@adelaide.catholic.org.au

“The crimes of sexual abuse offend Our Lord, cause physical, psychological and spiritual damage to the victims and harm the community of the faithful,” - Pope Francis May 2019