Child safety standards

Last updated 31 October 2026

Verandah is the village social app for Australian over-55s communities, run from Melbourne. We have zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE), including child sexual abuse material (CSAM), anywhere in Verandah.

Who Verandah is for

Verandah is for adults: residents and staff of over-55s villages, local businesses, and the adult family members residents invite. Accounts are not for anyone under 18. If we learn an account belongs to a child, we close it.

What is not allowed

• Any content that sexualises, exploits or endangers children, including images, video, drawings, text or links.
• Grooming, or any attempt to contact a child for sexual purposes.
• Sharing, requesting or pointing others to child sexual abuse material.

This applies to everything in Verandah: who's who, photos, posts, comments, polls, club and activity chats, and private messages.

How to report it

• In the app: tap Report under a post, comment, chat or message. A copy goes to your village office straight away.
• By email: write to hello@verandahapp.com.au. Reports about child safety are read and acted on first.
• If a child is in immediate danger, call 000.

You can also report child sexual exploitation directly to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation at accce.gov.au/report, or illegal online content to the eSafety Commissioner at esafety.gov.au/report.

What we do

• Remove the content as soon as we know about it.
• Close the accounts involved, and stop them signing up again.
• Keep the evidence securely, as the law requires, so it is available to police.
• Report it to the Australian Federal Police through the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, and to other authorities where the law requires.

The law

Verandah complies with Australian child safety laws, including the Criminal Code Act 1995 and the Online Safety Act 2021, and cooperates fully with law enforcement.

Contact

Our contact for child safety is Rachael Garthe, at hello@verandahapp.com.au.

Back to Verandah