On average, every year in Australia 250 children are killed and over 58,000 are admitted to hospital as a result of unintentional injury - the majority of these incidents occur in the home and many are easily preventable by simple means.

Melanie Courtney, Executive Officer of Kidsafe Victoria said, "The national campaign- conducted in partnership with Goodwill Freelancing- is aimed at creating some online buzz around child injury, the leading cause of death for children aged 1-14 years in Australia."

The community will be asked to get creative and send in their stories and illustrations about an injury hazard in the home and how this hazard can be dealt with to reduce the risk of injury for children. The entry the judging panels selects as the best will be turned into an animated safety promotion to be featured on the national Kidsafe website.

"This project has been specifically designed by Goodwill Freelancing to engage young people with a disability. Through Disability Service Australia, they are involved in the strategy and execution of the campaign, providing them with skills which will hopefully enable them to move into permanent paid employment", Ms Courtney said.

The campaign, including a sample of one of the first animations by the Disability Services Australia team, can be found on the national Kidsafe website at http://www.kidsafe.com.au/hot-topic.html

Link to sample animation video www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJAOdLrr5eg

Media Enquiries:
Ron Smith, Corporate Media Communications, Kidsafe Victoria - Mobile: 0417 329 201