Workshops & Holiday Programs

For everyone

Treat students, families, teachers and visitors with dignity. Welcome differences in culture, disability, appearance, gender, experience and ability. Racism, harassment, sexualised comments, intimidation, humiliation, threats, hazing and bullying are unacceptable, including in messages and social media.

Celebrate effort and progress without comparing bodies, weight, flexibility or competition results. No adult may use public shaming, physical punishment, withholding water or toilet access, or forced exercise as punishment. Corrections must be clear, respectful and appropriate to the learner.

For students

Arrive prepared, listen to safety instructions, use equipment only with permission and treat other people’s belongings carefully. Tell a teacher if you feel pain, unsafe, overwhelmed or unwell. Ask before helping or physically correcting another student. Keep phones away during class unless an agreed access need or learning task requires them.

You may say stop, ask for a break or choose not to be photographed. Tell a trusted adult if someone makes you uncomfortable. You are not in trouble for reporting a concern, disagreeing respectfully or asking for help.

For parents and guardians

Provide accurate contact, health and collection information and advise the studio when circumstances change. Communicate respectfully and privately about fees, placement or concerns. Do not coach from the doorway, confront another child, discuss a child’s private information in parent groups or pressure students to train through pain.

Follow arrival, collection, viewing and recording arrangements. Respect teachers’ professional assessment while using the review process when you disagree. Support the child’s wellbeing and educational and family commitments alongside training.

When behaviour needs support

The teacher first addresses immediate safety, listens and explains the concern. Where appropriate, agree a practical support plan with the student and guardian, including adjustments, expectations and a review date. Consider age, disability, trauma and communication needs rather than treating all incidents alike.

Repeated or serious conduct may require a meeting, written expectations, supervised participation, temporary restriction or termination of enrolment. Record reasons, offer a fair chance to respond and provide a review route. Urgent safety restrictions may be immediate, but are not a finding of wrongdoing. Resolve any financial outcome fairly and preserve consumer rights.

Commitment and responsibilities

STAGE FUSION will place children’s safety and wellbeing ahead of performance results, reputation and convenience. This policy applies to the Director, employees, contractors, visiting teachers, volunteers, families and students at classes, rehearsals, events, private lessons and online activities.

The Director is responsible for implementation, resourcing and review. Before opening, the studio must appoint a child safety contact and an alternative contact independent of the Director for complaints involving the Director. Their names and contact methods must appear in the portal and at the venue. Until those appointments are confirmed, families can contact Fiona McIvor on 0421 112 423 or use the external reporting pathways below.

Children will receive an age-appropriate explanation of their rights and how to raise a concern. They may speak to any trusted adult, bring a support person and raise an issue without punishment, loss of opportunities or pressure to withdraw it. Cultural safety, disability access, different family structures and individual communication needs must be considered.

Prevention in daily practice

Complete a documented risk assessment before using any temporary venue and review it when rooms, activities or supervision arrangements change. Check entry and exit control, bathrooms, changing areas, visibility, emergency access, equipment, transport and online contact.

Before commencing regulated work, check the person’s identity, references, role suitability and applicable blue card or exemption requirements. Verify and link approvals through the appropriate process, track status changes and remove access when a person is not authorised. A screening card does not replace supervision, training or professional boundaries.

Private lessons must be observable and interruptible. Avoid isolated closed-door sessions, secret communications, favouritism, personal gifts that create obligations and unauthorised transport. Communicate with minors through approved studio channels involving the guardian. Contractors and guest teachers must receive induction before teaching.

Responding to a concern

If a child is in immediate danger, call 000 and arrange urgent assistance. Any person may report directly to police or Child Safety without first seeking studio permission. The portal must never be the only reporting route.

Listen calmly. Thank the child for telling you, reassure them that the concern matters and explain that information may need to be shared with people who can help. Do not promise secrecy, ask leading questions, investigate the allegation yourself or confront the alleged person. Record the child’s words, date, time, observations and actions as accurately as possible.

Notify the designated safety contact promptly unless doing so creates risk or involves that person. Preserve relevant records and take immediate protective steps, including separating the person of concern from unsupervised child contact where appropriate. Seek agency advice about notifying guardians, particularly if a guardian may be implicated.

Use the Queensland Government reporting-child-abuse pathway for the relevant Regional Intake Service; after hours contact 1800 177 135. Identify all applicable police, Child Safety and regulatory reporting obligations. Do not delay a required external report while waiting for an internal review. The Director must confirm whether the Reportable Conduct Scheme applies to the business and maintain the relevant reporting deadlines and escalation arrangements.

Records and review

Restrict incident records to authorised people and preserve original notes, decision reasons, referrals, safety plans and follow-up actions. Do not store safeguarding allegations in a general class chat or public attendance note. Maintain a retention schedule informed by legal obligations and any investigation hold.

Review the policy at least annually and after an incident, complaint or major operational change. Consult children and families, check staff training and monitor whether safety actions were completed.

Before and during class

Teachers will plan progressive, age-appropriate activities and provide suitable warm-up, cool-down, hydration and rest. Check the floor, clear space, equipment and footwear before use. Adapt intensity for heat, fatigue, injury and the student’s needs. Do not promise injury-free participation.

Use trained teachers and appropriate supervision for acro, lifts, partner work, pointe preparation and equipment. Do not attempt new skills without instruction. No forced turnout, aggressive stretching, oversplits or pressure to work through pain. Pointe work requires an individual readiness assessment, not age alone; footwear and progression must be approved by the teacher.

Choreography, lyrics, costumes and movement must be developmentally appropriate. Heels or cabaret-labelled activities require explicit age and content review before enrolment, with suitable alternatives. A timetable label is not permission to deliver adult material to children.

Consent to correction and spotting

The teacher explains why physical contact may help and asks the student’s permission before a correction or spot whenever practicable. Consent is specific and can be withdrawn. Use verbal instruction, demonstration or another safe alternative when a student declines. A guardian’s general acknowledgement never overrides a child’s refusal.

Contact must be necessary, proportionate, explained, observable and professional. Avoid intimate areas. An immediate safety intervention may be needed to prevent a fall or injury; explain what happened afterwards and document any concern. Discuss recurring support needs with the family before participation.

Injury and return

Stop unsafe activity, assess the need for first aid and seek urgent help when necessary. Contact the guardian and record the incident. Do not diagnose an injury or require a child to continue to protect a rehearsal outcome. Teachers will follow agreed medical restrictions and request appropriate clearance when a safe return is uncertain.

Before resuming demanding work, agree a staged return with the family, teacher and relevant health professional where needed. Adapt performance commitments when safety requires it.

Handover and attendance

Parents must bring younger students to the designated supervised handover point and confirm that the class is operating. Students remain with their guardian until a responsible staff member accepts the handover. Publish the actual supervision window for each venue before classes begin; arrival at the building alone is not a handover.

Teachers check the register, investigate an unexplained absence through the agreed contact process and account for students during room changes. Students moving between classes must use the designated supervised waiting area. Do not assume the studio provides all-day care.

Collection

Release a child only to an authorised person or under a documented, age-appropriate independent travel arrangement agreed by the guardian. Verify unfamiliar adults. A change sent through a child or an unverified message is not sufficient. Record the change and confirm it through an established guardian contact.

For late collection, keep the child supervised in a safe location, contact the guardian and then the emergency contact. If safety is at risk or no responsible person can be reached, seek agency assistance. Staff must not take a child home or leave them alone as an informal solution. Do not impose an unapproved late collection fee.

Bathrooms and changing

Explain age-appropriate bathroom arrangements to families, respect privacy and avoid unnecessary one-to-one isolation. No photography or filming is permitted in toilets or changing spaces. Agree additional personal-care assistance in advance, with the child’s dignity and consent central to the plan.

Information and adjustments

Guardians provide emergency contacts and relevant allergies, medical conditions, injury restrictions and access needs. Collect only what is needed for safe participation. Discuss adjustments privately and allow families to update information. Staff receive only the information required for their role.

Where necessary, agree an individual action plan, including access to prescribed medication and who is trained and authorised to assist. Do not administer medication under a general photography or enrolment consent. Obtain specific instructions and authority and follow applicable requirements.

Emergency procedure

Call 000 when urgent help is needed. Give the confirmed venue address, nature of the emergency and access instructions. A trained person provides first aid within their competence while another person supervises the remaining students and meets responders.

Notify the guardian as soon as practicable and record the event, actions and handover. Maintain first-aid supplies, evacuation diagrams, attendance records and an assembly point at every venue. Practise evacuation arrangements and check access requirements for students with disability.

Before opening, confirm first-aider coverage, emergency access, medication arrangements and responsibility for contacting families. Fees, a missing acknowledgement or inability to reach a guardian must not delay urgent assistance.

Separate choices

Obtain separate guardian choices for each child for: capture for private teaching feedback; sharing in the authenticated family portal; public studio website and organic social media; and printed promotion or paid advertising. Each purpose must be explained and default to no permission. A parent can approve one purpose and decline another.

Private portal sharing may allow other enrolled families to view the image. Public publication can be copied, shared, altered or retained by other people. Explain those limitations before consent. Participation, reasonable learning opportunities and staff attention must not depend on marketing permission.

Ask the child in an age-appropriate way at the time of recording. Respect discomfort or refusal even when the guardian agreed. Students who can make their own decision should be involved meaningfully; obtain their own consent when they are adults. Guardian authority and restrictions must be checked before a permission is relied on.

Recording and publication controls

Only authorised personnel may use approved studio devices or approved professional photography arrangements. Do not capture students on staff personal accounts or distribute files through personal messaging. No recording in bathrooms, changing areas, during distress, first aid, sensitive consultations or unsafe situations.

Before recording a group, check each child’s current permission. Arrange a respectful alternative, camera angle or non-identifying shot without singling out or disadvantaging a child. Before publication, recheck the purpose, child assent, guardian choice, version and any withdrawal or custody restriction.

Do not publish surnames, dates of birth, school details, live location, travel schedules, private contact details or health information. Remove location metadata and use delayed event posting. Do not tag a child’s personal account. Obtain separate agreement for identifying a child by name; this draft does not seek that agreement.

Do not use facial recognition, biometric identification, AI training, synthetic media or digitally altered body images under ordinary studio media consent. Any new use requires a fresh assessment and specific permission. Copyright and music permissions are separate from permission to depict a child.

Parents visitors and events

Parents and visitors may record only when the studio announces a permitted recording period and the recording does not include other children without permission. Do not livestream classes or share another child’s image in public or private groups without the required permission. Teachers may ask recording to stop.

External photographers and event organisers need their own disclosed arrangements. Explain who controls the images and where families can ask questions. A studio permission does not automatically authorise every competition organiser or audience member.

Withdrawal and incident response

Guardians may change their choices through the portal or by contacting the Director. Withdrawal takes effect for future use as soon as processed. Stop scheduled publication, flag affected media and remove controlled online copies where reasonably possible. Ask partners to remove copies and document the response; do not promise that all third-party copies or already-distributed print materials can be recalled.

If an image is shared without permission, restrict further access promptly, preserve necessary incident evidence, assess harm, contact the family safely and use the complaints and external reporting pathways. Keep a media register linking each asset to purpose, consent, approver, publication location and review or deletion date.

Information and access

Use family details to manage enrolments, safety, scheduling, accounts and studio communication. The live collection notice must identify the business, contact method, necessary and optional fields, service providers, overseas processing where relevant, access and correction process and complaints route.

Parents should access only their authorised family records. Teachers need assigned students and relevant safety information, not unrestricted billing or family files. Use verified guardian accounts, staff access controls and multifactor authentication for privileged roles. Do not share passwords or identify a child through a public URL.

Confirm the Privacy Act’s application to the actual business, including any applicable exceptions to small-business exemptions. Regardless of formal coverage, apply data minimisation, restricted access, secure storage and an appropriate retention schedule. Do not treat collecting a health field as a substitute for obtaining relevant consent or assessing legal obligations.

Messages and records

Use official studio channels for class and account matters. Send sensitive questions privately; never post medical details, debts, custody documents or allegations on a general noticeboard. Marketing choices are optional and separate from essential service messages.

Notify families of schedule, venue and fee changes through the portal and the agreed service channel. Important updates require an explicit acknowledgement when appropriate; an email-open event is not evidence of understanding. Publish response hours and a backup contact before live use.

Correct inaccurate details without overwriting required historical records. When access is removed, revoke active sessions. Assess and contain suspected data breaches, preserve evidence and make notifications where required. Keep safeguarding and financial records subject to their applicable retention and legal-hold requirements.

Fee authority and transparency

Only the Director-approved, effective-dated fee schedule may be used for sales. Show GST-inclusive consumer prices, eligible classes, term dates, chargeable weeks, discounts, registration fees and unavoidable charges before acceptance. Keep the fee version attached to the enrolment and invoice. A subsequent price change must not silently alter an existing invoice.

Annual registration, term tuition, packages, private tuition and additional activity charges are itemised in the studio’s current fee schedule and the family invoice. For Term 4, each approved recurring private lesson is billed at its weekly lesson rate multiplied by the 10 weeks in the school term. Any additional charge must be communicated before the family commits.

Sibling discounts apply to eligible term-class and package tuition fees only. Children are ranked from oldest to youngest: the oldest child pays the standard fee; the second receives 10% off, the third 20%, the fourth 30%, and the fifth and subsequent children 100% off eligible tuition. Private tuition, registration and non-tuition performance costs such as choreography, costumes, external entry fees and travel are excluded. Scheduled performance-team and performance-class tuition is included in the Unlimited Term 4 package and is not charged separately. The studio reviews the complete family before finalising the invoice.

The Fusion 5 Pass offers five eligible class visits for $75 and the Fusion 10 Pass offers ten for $140 during Term 4. The studio confirms eligible classes and any registration charge before acceptance. Passes are valid for Term 4, 2026; unused visits do not carry into 2027.

Invoice dates and due dates

Invoices are prepared after the family confirms its approved enrolments and the studio checks fees, discounts and arrangements. The standard due date is the end of the second week of the school term, unless a different date or payment plan has been approved in writing. For Term 4, 2026 the standard due date is Friday 16 October. The invoice must state its exact due date. Payment is by manual bank transfer using the details on the final invoice; contact Accounts if payment details are not yet provided.

Parents may request a weekly, fortnightly or monthly payment plan. The Director must approve the amount, dates, payment method and final settlement date in writing before it replaces the standard due date. The plan should normally clear the balance by term end unless another arrangement is expressly approved. A request alone is not approval.

Send a reminder before the due date and a private follow-up after it. Check payment reconciliation, any disputed amount and whether an approved plan is current before recording the $25 late fee. An invoice payment is overdue after its stated due date; an approved payment-plan instalment is overdue after its agreed instalment date. Do not charge a fee merely because a compliant payment plan extends beyond the original invoice due date. Record each fee and any agreed exception with an audit trail; automatic assessment is not connected.

Payment difficulty and disputed amounts

Families should contact the Director early if they need support. Discuss an affordable arrangement privately, record the decision and avoid discussing debt with students or other families. Investigate disputed charges and explain the calculation. Do not use a child’s embarrassment or public exclusion as a collection method.

Record cash, bank transfer, EFTPOS and online payments against the correct invoice. A payment screenshot is evidence for checking, not automatic confirmation. Reconcile receipts, refunds, processing fees and settlements. Provide a receipt and retain an audit trail for manual adjustments.

Absence cancellation and withdrawal

Publish all chargeable dates and public-holiday treatment before enrolment. The pack says pupil-free days operate and public holidays or local Show Holidays do not unless advised. Monday 5 October 2026 is a Queensland public holiday; confirm the first Monday class rather than assuming it will operate.

For ordinary student absences or change of mind, the studio may apply the agreed attendance and cancellation terms. The welcome pack allows consideration of prolonged sickness or injury supported by a medical certificate and extended absences of four weeks or more. Ask only for evidence needed to assess the request and protect health information.

Nothing in the policy excludes rights under Australian Consumer Law. A blanket “no refunds” statement must not prevent a remedy where the law requires one, including relevant failures in supplied services. If the studio cancels or cannot supply the promised service, communicate the available fair remedy rather than automatically forfeiting the payment.

Withdrawal requests must be in writing and acknowledged with the effective date, remaining commitment and any approved adjustment. Confirm a notice period before introducing one; the supplied pack does not set a precise period. Re-enrolment and recurring billing require clear advance information and an accessible cancellation process.

Administrative procedure

Before invoicing: approve the fee version; confirm term dates and holidays; verify student placement and package eligibility; calculate term tuition discounts in oldest-to-youngest order and exclude every private tuition and non-tuition charge; review pro-rata entrants and exceptions; check invoice totals and due dates; then issue through the verified family account.

After issue: reconcile payments; monitor plan instalments; investigate failed or duplicate payments; contact the guardian privately; document any adjustment with a reason and approval; issue the appropriate correction or refund; and retain the original record. Never delete an invoice to conceal a billing error.

Raise a concern

A student may talk to a trusted teacher or the safety contact in their own words. A parent may contact Fiona McIvor on 0421 112 423 or the published studio contact. Offer a support person, interpreter or alternative format where needed. A child safety concern must use the urgent pathway and must not wait for routine complaint handling.

If the complaint involves the Director, use the appointed independent contact when available or an appropriate external authority. The independent contact must be appointed and published before this policy becomes operational. No person should be the sole decision-maker about a complaint against themselves.

Handle and resolve

Proposed service targets are acknowledgement within two business days and an initial response or progress update within ten business days. These are studio targets, not substitutes for shorter legal or safety reporting deadlines. Explain any delay and agree the next update.

Record the issue, desired outcome, relevant facts, safety measures, people consulted, decision and reasons. Give affected people a fair opportunity to respond while protecting children and avoiding unnecessary disclosure. Do not require a complainant to confront the person complained about.

Offer a review by someone not responsible for the original decision where practicable. Explain external options for safeguarding, consumer or privacy concerns. Close the matter only after communicating the outcome and checking agreed actions. Retain records securely and use de-identified trends to improve practice.