Cooks Hill Surf Club welcomes everyone in our community.
Each year, all SLS members sign the SLSA membership form which binds them to SLS policies such as the Member Protection and Child Safe policies.
Cooks Hill SLSC is committed to the protection, welfare and wellbeing of all its members and is dedicated to providing a safe, fun and enjoyable environment as outlined in the SLSA Member Protection Policy. We take an inclusive approach, ensuring all of our members are treated with respect and dignity and are protected from discrimination, harassment and abuse regardless of gender, age, ability or nationality.
CHSLSC strives to create a safe and nurturing environment for everyone participating in surf lifesaving by following the Member Protection Code of Conduct.
↓ Member Protection Team
Member protection is a term widely used in the Australian sports industry to describe the practices that sporting organisations put in place to protect their members from discrimination, harassment, abuse and other inappropriate behaviour.
Each club has a group of dedicated volunteers who look after member protection issues. These include Member Protection Information Officers (MPIO), Complaints Manager and Child Safe Coordinator.
The MPIO is available to provide advice to all members who may have an issue or grievance at the club and is the first point of contact for any member wishing to raise a concern or wanting to know what their options are. To contact the MPIO, please email memberservices@cookshillsurfclub.com.au to arrange a call back.
The Complaints Manager will only be notified of formal complaints, after the MPIO has been contacted in the first instance. The Complaints Manager will work through the complaint and carry out the appropriate actions according to the complaints policy.
After contacting the MPIO, should members wish to proceed with a formal complaint, this can be lodged via the online complaints portal.
All formal complaints are handled by a trained Complaints Manager, who will be in contact after lodgement.
We understand that in a community organisation where everyone knows each other, potential conflicts of interest can arise. We want all our members to feel able to raise any concerns they have. Please advise when you contact the club if you have any concerns regarding a conflict of interest.
Cooks Hill Surf Life Saving Club is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all Children & Young People (CYP) who are involved in CHSLSC. We adhere to the SLSA Child Safe Policy and procedures that seek to address risks to child safety and to establish child safe culture and practices in line with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
The Child Safe Guidelines have been developed to assist all Surf Life Saving clubs and members to meet their obligations, specifically relating to children and young people, under the Surf Life Saving Australia Child Safe Policy.
↓ Child Safe Commitment
The CHSLSC Board endorses the Child Safe commitment to keeping CYP safe from abuse and neglect.
We promote equity, respect and diversity by:
- actively anticipating CYP’s diverse circumstances and responding effectively to those with additional vulnerabilities;
- providing all CYP access to information, support and reporting processes;
- empowering CYP by giving them a voice and encouraging them to speak up on decisions that affect them;
- creating a fun and positive environment for CYP to be involved in; and
- paying attention to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander CYP, CYP with a disability, CYP who identify as LGBTIQ and CYP from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Inclusion is an attitude. It is about being an organisation where everyone feels welcome and valued. This starts from when a potential new member comes into contact with the club for the first time, through to the member actively participating in club activities.
Inclusive beaches:
- aims to support clubs looking to run an inclusive program at their club by providing information and resources to help create an inclusive beach environment for everyone as well as providing a platform for clubs to connect with other clubs running similar programs.
- aims to supply resources and information around what families and participants should expect when participating in a Nippers program or visiting a beach.
- aims to assist potential participants to locate a club running an inclusive program near them.
CHSLSC takes pride in promoting Surf Life Saving as a diverse and inclusive movement open to all Australians. CHSLSC supports initiatives and programs that are designed to encourage participation by all Australians and to make everyone feel like they belong between the flags.
Surf Life Saving is the largest volunteer organisation in the country and Cooks Hill is proud of be part of this organisation. We deliver a unique and inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated. We actively listen to our volunteers and the broader community, and we promote progressive values and innovative thinking. Our sense of ‘belonging’ binds us together and helps to create great Australians and build better and more resilient communities. The ocean doesn’t discriminate and neither does Surf Life Saving.
Click to view the SLSA Inclusion and Diversity Statement and our Member Protection Policy.
Zero Tolerance
CHSLSC and its members will not tolerate discrimination in any form, including abuse, bullying, harassment, sexual misconduct, victimisation or vilification of persons within SLS including those with diverse sexualities and genders.
Further prohibited conduct including but not limited to homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and interphobia has no place in surf life saving and any reported breaches will be managed under Policy 6.05 Member Protection Policy.