Our Services

Investigations
Review
Risk Assessments
Advisory Services
Compliance
Training

Investigations

ESPC specialises in investigations and related services in the areas of personal and professional conduct, specifically in the following areas –

• Child protection and abuse of all kinds
• Professional standards and compliance
• Clergy misconduct
• Inappropriate conduct by employees and volunteers in community, social, and sporting organisations
• Bullying, harassment and discrimination
• Workplace misconduct
• Compliance, Care, and Delivery standards by agencies and individuals in child care, aged care, and similar services

These specialties particularly evolved from our experience with the landmark Stolen Children cases in Australia, where we investigated administrative and compliance issues, standards of care and conduct by many church and other agencies, and allegations of abuse and misconduct relating to many individuals involved.

Our team has years of individual experience in these areas. Since the formation of ESPC in 2005 we have undertaken in excess of 300 child protection and misconduct investigations. Many of our reports have been directed to compliance and review agencies. Some have been tested in the courts. Our processes, the integrity of our investigations, and the standard of our reports, have been consistently commended.

The spectrum of clients and agencies with whom we are involved is noted in our Home page.
 

Review

ESPC can review and advise on:

• Internal processes including internal investigations
• Complaint handling and response procedures
• Compliance with general principals of due process, and specific protocols and standards
• Risk assessment procedures and options

In addition we review internal systems, protocols, and staff adherence; and benchmark these against regulatory and peak agency standards.

 
Risk Assessments

Risk Management is an integral responsibility for the organisations and agencies we assist, at so many levels - identification and avoidance of unwanted occurrences; safety and welfare of everyone involved; compliance with regulatory standards; and containment of insurance, liability and case management costs.

We advise, and provide training and support, on pro-active internal risk management.  We assess existing systems (or the lack of); examine the range of activities and risk exposure of organisations; and recommend risk minimisation strategies. We back up our analysis and recommendations with support through the implementation stage, and provide in-service training to achieve a better understanding and take-up by employees, volunteers and other participants.

Avoidance of one major negative situation, or avoidance of the reoccurrence of the sort of issues in which we become involved, will return the cost and challenge to an organisation of effectively addressing risk issues, many times over.

Risk issues in which we provide support are numerous, but range from risk assessment and planning for the day-to-day operations and services of our clients, such as planning for student or youth activities in schools and community groups; through to analysis and management of risk associated with individuals with adverse history wishing to participate in Church communities.

A significant part of our business is risk analysis and advice following complaints, and review of internal situations - whether or not investigations have been required. We assist clients to identify how situations came about, and from that experience, to plan how the risk of reoccurrence can be avoided.

The breadth of experience and learning we gain through our involvement in situations outside the immediate experience of individual client organisations adds significant value to the support we offer.

A Risk Analysis and Recommendations is an integral part of our service in the outcome of investigations we undertake.

Supporting our clients in pro-active identification and management of risk is one of the most rewarding aspects of what we do at ESPC.
 

Advisory Services

ESPC provides general advice and support to clients, peak agencies and their member organisations, school leaders, church leaders, and others. We are happy to talk through considerations in response to complaints and issues. In the most part initial consultations are at no charge. This service is a significant part of the added value we provide.

In many cases this advice is enough to support an agency in managing its response so that no further external services are required.

Examples of the areas where we provide this support include:

• Preliminary advice and support when issues arise
• Advice on response to complaints and allegations on notification, including obligations to notify regulatory agencies, police, registration boards; and child protection agencies
• Balancing internal management issues and compliance obligations with concurrent police investigations
• Risk management strategies
• Considerations with investigation obligations – internal capabilities and capacity versus independent external service; costs; managing conflicting interests; processes to ensure fairness and transparency  
• Management issues – handling conflicting expectations; community and staff reactions, retaining the confidence of participants, parents, students and the wider community
• Discussion and advice on standards, and compliance with mandatory reporting responsibilities
• General assistance on issues of concern across the range of situations in which we are involved

Compliance

We advise and support our clients to ensure their protocols comply with regulatory requirements and the standards set by peak bodies. We also assess, train and support employees, volunteers and participants to ensure adherence with these standards.

We wrote the complaint response and investigation protocols for the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations, supporting the largest non-government education system in Australia, and provided training to support the responsible Diocesan school personnel.

Other examples of compliance support we have provided include:

• Review of conduct standards and management procedures relating to bullying, harassment and discrimination for a leading Queensland school, to ensure compliance with systemic standards and obligations under the relevant industrial agreement
• Supporting several non-government schools to assess staff take-up and adherence with personal conduct standards
• Training school and church leaders, and in-service workshops for employees to support compliance with mandatory child protection standards and response procedures
• Advising several churches in Australia and New Zealand on conduct standards for clergy and participants, including extensive review and upgrading of existing protocols and procedures

Training

ESPC provides training for schools, churches, peak agencies and members including sporting and community groups. Subjects include risk management; issues in child protection; bullying and harassment; and standards of conduct for clergy, church workers, and volunteers.

Our training services include:

• Conference addresses and workshops for school and church leaders
• Training and accreditation of internal complaint officers in schools, churches, child care and aged care agencies
• In-service workshops for school staff and volunteers, and church leaders
• Small group training for staff and volunteers in schools, community service and sporting organisations