Victorian school principals are being made to sign statutory declarations saying they will keep their students safe from child abuse.

All Catholic, independent and government schools in Victoria have to comply with a new code of conduct designed to prevent child abuse, as part of the State Government's Betrayal of Trust Report in the wake of the Victorian Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations.

School principals and school council presidents must sign a statutory declaration to prove their compliance, but there is concern they could face charges if they are found to be knowingly non-compliant.

Principals say that if something goes awry in their schools, or a staff member does not adhere to the child safe standards, they might be held personally liable.

The Victorian Registration Qualification Authority (VRQA) is in charge of implementing the standards.

VRQA director Lynn Glover has told the ABC that “if a school principal or council president signs a statutory declaration attesting to the truthfulness of certain statements, which they know to be false, they may face criminal charges”.

“However, signing a statutory declaration does not make you legally liable for abuse which occurs on school grounds,” Ms Glover explained.

“As is the case now, and irrespective of whether a statutory declaration is signed, liability depends on whether reasonable steps were taken to protect a child.”

But that is not the end of the concerns.

Principals say the sample code of conduct sent by the Department of Education and the VRQA has some tricky provisions.

The code bans staff having contact with a child or family outside of school, but principals working in rural areas say their involvement with community groups and events would make that impossible.

Principals criticised the rapid pace of the process, and called for a more active consultation process.