The realities of organisations working with vulnerable people

“How many times is it acceptable for a vulnerable person to be abused? When is it ever okay?”

– Daniel Muggeridge, Chairperson, Oho

This is the question every Australian should ask themselves.

It is also the question that led to the creation of Oho.

Every single case of abuse impacts not just the victim, but hundreds of people around them, creating dramatic changes in their lives across a lifetime. Whereas each individual protected represents a corresponding legacy.

Under the Australian Human Rights Commission’s National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, employers must ensure all members of their workforce – including paid staff, contractors and volunteers – are suitable and safe.

Yet, without ongoing checks, most organisations cannot claim to be certain of this, even though there is a legal and a public expectation that they should.

The unfortunate reality of organisations working with vulnerable people

Vulnerable people are being failed by the system.

“Our research demonstrates that Australian families believe organisations are monitoring worker accreditations – such as Working With Children Checks – as part of their responsibilities for children or other vulnerable people in their care.

In reality, they are not.

Common practice is to verify when onboarding staff, and then often only review annually, on expiry, or never again. Records are often kept in paper files or spreadsheets,” Mr Muggeridge said.

“If a worker is de-registered for abuse or malpractice, their employer may not know in time, if ever. And available research suggests the majority of abusers strike more than once.”

Vulnerable people are exposed – and often for long periods.

The change we need

Oho originated because a sexual abuse survivor wanted change, to protect others.

Under the leadership of Claire Rogers, former CEO of World Vision Australia, Oho is on a mission to solve this problem – for parents and caregivers, but also for the organisations working with vulnerable people.

We’re a technology businesses that enables organisations to continuously monitor the accreditations – such as Working With Children Checks – of their workers and volunteers.

“Oho keeps watch, every week of every month, every year. If a person is deregistered for a charge of abuse or malpractice the employer will know and can act immediately.” – CEO, Claire Rogers

That’s why over 8,000 people are already using the platform.

How organisations working with vulnerable people can benefit

Developed in Australia from the ground up, Oho leverages the power of digital technology to automate monitoring and overcome the complexity of watching over multiple registrations for employees across different state and jurisdictions.

By constantly checking the status of staff and volunteers’ accreditations, organisations can focus on what matters: your customers and the people in your care.

Key features of the platform include:

• Automatically and continuously verifying accreditations of employees and volunteers
• Rapid notification of expiry or revocation
• Enduring proof in an auditable digital record
• Proactive compliance reporting to management and boards

Even if one person is saved from abuse, Oho will be successful. But with this technology, Oho has the capacity to protect millions of Australians by using technology for good.

So, will you be part of the solution?

Join us on our mission to protect Australia’s most vulnerable.