SPA Masterclass: Small People, Big Responsibilities: Working with Children in Screen Production

Working with children in screen production involves heightened legal, ethical, and practical responsibilities for producers. Regulatory requirements differ across Australian states and territories, while commissioners are applying increasingly robust expectations around child safety, safeguarding, and wellbeing throughout development and production.

This SPA Masterclass provides producers with a clear, practical understanding of how to work with and include children in screen productions today. Through a combination of legal overview, commissioner perspectives, and a producer case study, the session explores both formal obligations and the lived realities of managing child participation on set.

Part of SPA’s ongoing professional development program, this Masterclass equips producers and business affairs staff with the knowledge and tools required to confidently navigate compliance, commissioning expectations, and best practice when working with children.

Participants will leave with:

• A clear understanding of the legal framework for working with children in Australian screen productions
• Insight into commissioner expectations around child safety and safeguarding
• Practical, production-tested lessons from a producer case study
• Increased confidence in planning, commissioning, and delivering productions involving children

COURSE OUTLINE

Part 1 – The Legal Framework for Working with Children in Production
Speaker: Zoe Angus, Director of Industrial, Screen Producers Australia
An introductory presentation providing a clear overview of the legislative and regulatory framework governing the engagement of children in Australian screen productions.
 

Part 2 – Child Safety and Safeguarding: Commissioner Expectations in Practice
Speakers: Leisl Egan, Child Safety & Wellbeing Advocate, ABC & Kim Collins, Head of Safeguarding, BBC (UK)
This session examines how commissioners approach child safety and safeguarding in practice, and what producers are expected to demonstrate when developing and delivering projects involving children.
 

Part 3 – Case Study: Working with Children in Practice
Speaker: Kim Collins, Head of Safeguarding, BBC (UK)
A producer-led case study examining the practical realities of working with children on a live production, from early planning through to delivery.
 

Part 4 – Panel Discussion and Q&A
A moderated panel discussion followed by an extended audience Q&A, drawing together legal, commissioner, and producer perspectives.