The following statement was made today by Carrie Davies, Interim President of the Eltham Wildcats Basketball Club:

The Eltham Wildcats Executive Committee today has appointed an external reviewer of the Club’s child safety, recruitment, safeguarding and governance practices. The review will commence immediately.

Every child, young person, volunteer, member, staff member, and family connected with the Club wants to know their Club is safe. The review has been established to do exactly that.

The reviewer will carefully examine our systems, understand what works and what doesn’t, and identify where improvements are required to ensure the Club meets its obligations under the Child Safe Standards, and delivers a safe environment for all children. The scope of the review will be thorough and practical, with recommendations that strengthen the Club for the future.

The review will also be conducted in accordance with the Reportable Conduct Scheme, the Victorian Child Safe Standards, trauma informed and child centred approaches, cultural safety for Aboriginal children, CALD children, children with disability, and privacy and confidentiality requirements.

The review will be led by an external reviewer with specific expertise in child safety, governance, and organisational risk, and will be undertaken promptly. The review will be thorough and systematic, examining not only what happened in this instance, but also the Club’s broader approach to child safety, including its policies, procedures, governance, and culture.

The review will not determine criminal liability, nor will it replace or interfere with investigations being undertaken by other authorities, including the Social Services Regulator and Basketball Victoria.

The Eltham Wildcats Executive Committee will consider all recommendations arising from the review and determine an implementation plan designed to strengthen child safety and governance across the Club.

Upon completion of the review, the Eltham Wildcats Executive Committee intends to publicly release a summary of the review’s findings together with the Club’s response and implementation plan.

Our priority is to be accountable for what happened, understand any shortcomings in our systems, and address them to the satisfaction of the Social Services regulator.