Child Safety Policy (draft)

1. Our commitment

Astry is used by children as young as 5. Every child has the right to be safe, and we put their safety ahead of convenience, growth and income. We have zero tolerance for child abuse, grooming and exploitation, on Astry or because of it.

This policy says how Astry is designed to protect children, what we expect of every adult on it, and what we do when someone raises a concern. It applies to everyone who uses Astry and to everyone who works for Astry, and sits alongside our Terms and Conditions, Community Guidelines and Tutor and Seller Agreement.

2. How Astry is built to protect children

Age rules

• No one under 18 can use Astry until a parent who has passed an ID check links to the account.
• Everyone aged 13 to 17, student or tutor, also needs a verified school email or a passed selfie age check confirming they are under 18, on top of the parent, never instead of one. Until then they can’t message, book or pay. This is so an adult can’t pose as a teenager to reach other children, or as a teenage tutor to avoid a Working With Children Check.
• A parent link only counts if the date of birth on the parent’s ID makes them at least 16 years older than the child.
• An adult can deal directly with someone under 18 only as a tutor with a verified, in-date NSW Working With Children Check.
• A parent who is only a parent on Astry can message tutors and support, never other children.
• These rules are enforced by the server on every message, booking, payment and lesson room, not just hidden in the page.

Working With Children Checks

Our staff check each tutor’s WWCC by hand against the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian register. When a check expires, the tutor loses access to under-18s that day, including lessons already booked.

Parents can see what happens

A linked parent sees their child’s lessons and lesson reports, and can read (not write in) their child’s conversations with tutors. Both sides of those conversations are told a parent can read them.

Contact stays on Astry

Phone numbers and email addresses are refused in messages, social media handles are always hidden, even after a lesson is booked, swearing is filtered, and uploaded images are screened for explicit content.

What is not in place yet

ID checks and selfie age checks are not switched on yet. Until they are, ages are self-declared and we can’t confirm who anyone is, or that a parent is really a child’s parent. Parents should keep this in mind and stay involved in who their child learns from.

3. What we expect of adults

Every adult on Astry, and every tutor of any age, must:

• keep all contact with a child on Astry, and never ask a child to keep a secret or move to another app;
• never send a child, or ask a child for, images, personal details, gifts or money;
• never talk to a child about sexual matters, or use sexual or violent language or material;
• never meet a child outside an agreed lesson, or without a parent knowing where and when;
• teach in person in an open place with another adult nearby, and online with nothing unsuitable in view;
• never record a child without their parent’s consent;
• report any concern about a child’s safety to us straight away.

4. Warning signs to look out for

Grooming often starts slowly. Be concerned if an adult:

• asks a child to talk somewhere other than Astry, or to delete messages;
• gives a child special attention, compliments, gifts or favours, or lessons for free;
• asks personal questions unrelated to learning, or about the child’s relationships or body;
• tries to spend time alone with the child, or to keep the parent out of the conversation;
• asks for photos, or sends pictures or links that have nothing to do with the lesson.

Children: if anyone on Astry makes you feel uncomfortable, scared or confused, it isn’t your fault and you won’t be in trouble. Tell a parent or another adult you trust, and use the report button. You can also talk to Kids Helpline any time on 1800 55 1800.

5. How to report a concern

• If a child is in immediate danger, call 000.
• On Astry: use the report button on the profile or message, or open a ticket from Support.
• By email: hello@astry.com.au, with “Child safety” in the subject line.
• In NSW, the Child Protection Helpline: 132 111.
• Online child sexual exploitation can be reported to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation at accce.gov.au/report.
• Online abuse and image-based abuse can be reported to the eSafety Commissioner at esafety.gov.au.

You don’t need proof to report a concern. Tell us what you saw or were told, and we will take it from there.

6. What we do when we get a report

1. Look at it first. Child-safety reports go to the front of the queue. [Target response time to be confirmed]
2. Protect the child. Where there is a possible risk, we restrict the adult’s account straight away while we look into it, so they can’t contact or book children.
3. Tell the authorities. Where we believe a child may be at risk of significant harm, or a crime may have happened, we report it to the NSW Police and the Department of Communities and Justice, and tell the Office of the Children’s Guardian about a tutor’s WWCC where relevant. We don’t wait to finish our own review first.
4. Keep the evidence. We save copies of the messages, files and account records concerned, so they can be given to the police even if the account is later deleted.
5. Decide and act. We ban accounts that put children at risk, and don’t let them back.
6. Support the people involved. We tell the person who reported that we have acted, keep their identity confidential, and where appropriate tell the child’s parent.

7. The NSW Child Safe Standards

The NSW Child Safe Standards describe what a child-safe organisation does. This is how we apply them. Things we haven’t done yet are marked as planned.

8. Astry staff

Anyone who works for Astry and can see children’s accounts or messages must hold a valid NSW Working With Children Check and follow this policy. Staff can open a private conversation only after recording why, and every opening is logged. The person responsible for child safety at Astry is [Child safety contact name and role].

9. Reviewing this policy

We will review this policy at least once a year, after any serious incident, and when the law changes. The date at the top of the page shows when it last changed.