Australia Voice, owned and operated by Harbour Bridge Media Pty Ltd (ACN 612 345 678), takes its responsibility to safeguard minors in its journalism seriously. This policy outlines the specific procedures and standards we apply when covering children and young people, ensuring their dignity, privacy and safety are protected at all times.
Who owns Australia Voice and who oversees this safeguarding policy?
Australia Voice is owned by Harbour Bridge Media Pty Ltd, a New South Wales company. The safeguarding policy is overseen by Editor-in-Chief James Mitchell and Standards & Fact-Checking Lead Thomas Walsh, who together ensure all content involving minors meets our strict ethical guidelines before publication.
Our commitment begins at the corporate level. Harbour Bridge Media Pty Ltd requires that every editorial decision involving minors be justified on public-interest grounds and reviewed by a senior editor. Thomas Walsh, as Standards Lead, holds specific authority to block or require changes to any piece that could cause harm to a young person. Our full team structure is available on the Our Team page.
What additional review process applies to stories involving minors?
Every article, image, video or audio piece that features identifiable minors undergoes an additional review by Standards Lead Thomas Walsh, in coordination with the relevant section editor. This process is separate from our standard editorial workflow and must be completed before any content is published.
During this review, Thomas Walsh checks for documented parental or guardian consent, assesses whether the minor’s identity is necessary to the story, and evaluates potential long-term consequences. If any concerns arise, the piece is either amended or rejected. This procedure is detailed further in our Editorial Policy. The same heightened scrutiny applies to material produced with AI-assisted tools; no automated process can override human judgement on matters involving children.
How do we ensure the wellbeing of minors in interviews and photography?
We obtain written informed consent from a parent or guardian before interviewing or photographing any minor, except in clearly newsworthy circumstances where the public interest substantially outweighs the privacy interest. In those exceptional cases, we apply the highest level of editorial oversight and seek legal advice when appropriate.
We never name a minor in a story without permission, avoid publishing identifying details such as school or home address unless essential to the public interest, and consider whether the content could expose the child to bullying, stigma or future harm. Our Sources & Standards page outlines the verification and consent procedures our journalists follow.
How can readers raise concerns about our coverage of minors?
Readers can report any concerns by emailing complaints@australiavoice.org. Our complaints team, led by Editor-in-Chief James Mitchell, investigates every safeguarding complaint promptly and provides a written response within five business days.
Complaints may relate to accuracy, privacy, consent, or potential harm to a minor. We treat all submissions seriously and, where warranted, will remove or correct content, issue an apology, and update our internal procedures. The full complaints process is described in our Complaints Procedure.
Our commitments
- Prioritise the safety and wellbeing of minors in all editorial decisions, with no exception for commercial or competitive pressures.
- Require additional review by the Standards Lead for any content involving identifiable minors, and never publish without explicit human editorial approval.
- Obtain verifiable parental or guardian consent for interviews and imagery involving minors, unless a compelling and transparent public-interest justification is documented and approved by the Editor-in-Chief.
- Never publish content that could put a minor at risk of harm, ridicule, harassment, or long-term reputational damage, and anonymise identities wherever possible.
- Respond to all safeguarding concerns within five working days, take corrective action including removal of content when warranted, and report any systemic issues to Harbour Bridge Media’s senior management.