YWCA Canberra’s Children’s Services has strengthened its approach to the use of children’s images and will no longer use identifiable images of children on social media, our website, advertising or any other public-facing promotional material. This decision reflects YWCA Canberra’s commitment to children’s safety, privacy, dignity and right to have a say in matters that will affect them.
For years, photos have been one of the simplest ways to share what happens in early learning and care – a child engrossed in play, a proud moment at pickup, and a group photo from a special day.
But the more we’ve reflected on what it actually means to share a child’s image publicly, the harder it’s been to ignore the questions underneath it. Who does that image belong to once it’s posted? Where does it go from there? And did the child themselves get any say in the matter? These are just some of the questions that led YWCA Canberra’s Children’s Services to strengthen its approach to the use of children’s images.
Images shared online can become part of a child’s long-term digital footprint and may be copied, reposted or used beyond their original context. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner advises that photographs and videos can reveal identifying information and recommends avoiding content that discloses children’s names, locations, routines, uniforms or other personal details.
Frances Crimmins, the CEO of YWCA Canberra, states-
‘Our responsibility is to place children’s rights, safety and wellbeing before promotional considerations. Children should not carry a digital footprint created for them by adults without careful thought, strong safeguards and genuine respect for their agency’.
Under the approach, YWCA Canberra’s Children’s Services external communications may use non-identifying images that reflect the richness of early learning and care, such as learning environments, children’s hands, materials, artworks, group experiences photographed from behind, and moments of learning in action where children cannot be identified. Images will not be paired with names, locations, routines or other information that could identify a child.
This isn’t a stance we’ve landed on alone. The position aligns with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, including the expectation that physical and online environments promote children’s safety and wellbeing while minimising opportunities for harm. It is also consistent with ACECQA’s National Model Code for Taking Images or Videos of Children in Early Childhood Education and Care, which promotes child-safe controls over the taking, sharing, storage and retention of children’s images, including use of service-issued devices and strict access and retention arrangements.
YWCA Canberra recognises that photographs can still have an important educational role when used responsibly within approved, secure service systems. In pedagogical documentation, images may help educators and families see children’s learning processes, relationships, ideas and collaboration. Research on pedagogical photo documentation indicates that photographs can contribute to children’s play and learning when they are used purposefully, ethically and alongside educator interpretation—not as a substitute for professional analysis.
Within YWCA Canberra’s Children’s Services, images used for programming and documentation will be connected to a clear educational purpose and supported by descriptive learning narratives, educators’ analysis and children’s voices. Access will be limited to approved, secure platforms and authorised users, in accordance with YWCA Canberra’s privacy, safeguarding and digital-technology policies.
Our organisation will also continue to recognise children as active participants in decisions about their own images. Family permissions will be sought and reviewed through enrolment and orientation processes, while educators will ask children before taking photographs and respect both verbal and non-verbal indications that a child does not wish to be photographed. We recognise that as children grow older, their own views and wishes about being photographed will be given increasing weight alongside parental consent, reflecting their developing capacity to make decisions about matters that affect them. At YWCA Canberra events such as She Leads High or Prom, no photo of a young person will be published online unless a signed parental consent form has been obtained beforehand, ensuring families retain clear oversight and control over their child’s public image. Supporting children to ask peers before taking or sharing images also helps build early understandings of consent, respect and responsible digital participation. The eSafety Commission similarly recommends conversations with children about when photographs are taken and shared as a way to build positive online habits.
YWCA Canberra services will continue to celebrate children’s learning, creativity and belonging. We will do so in ways that honour children as rights-holders, protect their privacy and keep their learning—not their image—at the centre of the story.