Section 30 of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 establishes that the following people are mandated reporter/notifiers:

  • prescribed health practitioners (medical practitioners, pharmacists, registered or enrolled nurses, dentists and psychologists)
  • police officers
  • community corrections officers under the Correctional Services Act 1982
  • social workers
  • ministers of religion
  • employees of, or volunteers in, an organisation formed for religious or spiritual purposes
  • teachers employed as such in a school (within the meaning of the Education and Early Childhood Services (Registration and Standards) Act 2011) or a pre-school or kindergarten
  • employees of, or volunteers in, an organisation that provides health, welfare, education, sporting or recreational, child care or residential services wholly or partly for children or young people, being a person who:
    • provides such services directly to children or young people, or
    • holds a management position in the organisation the duties of which include direct responsibility for, or direct supervision of, the provision of those services to children or young people
  • officer or employee of a prescribed organisation (as per section 114 of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017) who holds a management position in the organisation, the duties of which include direct responsibility for, or direct supervision of, the provision of services to children and young people.

Section 31 of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 requires that a mandated reporter or notifier must report or notify the Department for Child Protection if they suspect on reasonable grounds that a child or young person is, or may be, at risk of harm, when the suspicion is formed in the course of their employment (whether paid or voluntary). For more information about what you need to include in your report, see the Child Abuse Report Line website.

A mandated reporter/notifier legally must make the report/notification as soon as is reasonably practicable after forming the suspicion. Refer to the below information regarding Indicators of harm and the Safe environments for children and young people: Mandatory notification information booklet for guidance regarding determining when to report/notify concerns to the Child Abuse Report Line.

If a mandated reporter/notifier forms a suspicion outside of their work (whether paid or voluntary) that a child or young person is, or may be, at risk of harm, they may make a report/notification to the Department for Child Protection voluntarily.

A failure by a mandated reporter/notifier to report/notify a suspicion formed on reasonable grounds that a child or young person is, or may be at risk, in the course of their work may result in a person being prosecuted and a court imposing a fine. See section 31(1) of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017.

Circumstances where a person need not report/notify a suspicion

A person need not report/notify a suspicion if:

  • the person believes on reasonable grounds that another person has reported the matter in accordance with section 31(1) of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017
  • the person’s suspicion was due solely to having been informed of the circumstances that gave rise to the suspicion by a police officer or child protection officer acting in the course of their official duties
  • the person believes on reasonable grounds that the Department for Child Protection is already aware of all the information that forms the basis of the person’s suspicion.

Section 18 of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017defines that a child or young person is “at risk” if:

  • the child or young person has suffered harm (being harm of a kind against which a child or young person is ordinarily protected); or
  • there is a likelihood that the child or young person will suffer harm (being harm of a kind against which a child or young person is ordinarily protected); or
  • there is a likelihood that the child or young person will be removed from the State (whether by their parent or guardian or by some other person) for the purpose of—
    • being subjected to a medical or other procedure that would be unlawful if performed in this State (including, to avoid doubt, female genital mutilation); or
    • taking part in a marriage ceremony (however described) that would be a void marriage, or would otherwise be an invalid marriage, under the Marriage Act 1961 of the Commonwealth; or
    • enabling the child or young person to take part in an activity, or an action to be taken in respect of the child or young person, that would, if it occurred in this State, constitute an offence against the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 or the Criminal Code of the Commonwealth; or
  • the parents or guardians of the child or young person—
    • are unable or unwilling to care for the child or young person; or
    • have abandoned the child or young person, or cannot, after reasonable inquiry, be found; or
    • are dead; or
  • the child or young person is of compulsory school age but has been persistently absent from school without satisfactory explanation of the absence; or
  • the child or young person is of no fixed address; or
  • any other circumstances of a kind prescribed by the regulations exist in relation to the child or young person.
  • in assessing whether there is a likelihood that a child or young person will suffer harm, regard must be had to not only the current circumstances of their care but also the history of their care and the likely cumulative effect on the child or young person of that history.

Section 17 of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017defines “harm” as:

  • reference to physical harm or psychological harm (whether caused by an act or omission) and, includes such harm caused by sexual, physical, mental or emotional abuse or neglect.
  • psychological harm does not include emotional reactions such as distress, grief, fear or anger that are a response to the ordinary vicissitudes of life.

A mandated reporter/notifier must make a report/notification to the Department for Child Protection Child Abuse Report Line (13 14 78) if they suspect on reasonable grounds that a child or young person is, or may be, at risk of harm.

A mandated reporter/notifier does not have to be able to prove that harm has actually occurred.

Reasonable grounds

Reasonable grounds to report/notify suspected harm or risk of harm may include:

  • when your own observations of a particular child or young person's behaviour and/or injuries lead you to suspect a child or young person is, or may be, at risk of harm
  • when a child or young person tells you they are at risk or have been harmed
  • a child or young person telling you that they know of someone who has been harmed (they may possibly be referring to themselves)
  • when your own observations about the behaviour of the child or young person, or their parent/guardian/ caregiver, gives you cause to suspect that a child or young person is being, or is at risk of being harmed
  • when you hear that a child or young person is, or may be at risk of harm from someone who is in a position to provide reliable information (perhaps a relative or friend, neighbour or sibling of a child or young person who is at risk).

For more information about what may be considered harm, see Indicators of harm or risk to children and young people.

It is a legal requirement for a mandated reporter/notifier to report/notify their suspicions to the Child Abuse Report Line (13 14 78) as soon as is reasonably practicable after forming the suspicion. However, section 30(2) of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 recognises that making a report/notification does not necessarily exhaust a mandated reporter/notifier's duty of care to a child or young person and their family.

A mandated reporter/notifier's duty of care continues once they make a report/notification to the Child Abuse Report Line. A mandated reporter/notifier should consider how they can continue to support the family within their professional capacity and explore other support services available for children, young people and families that may be able to help address the concerns.

Section 163 of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017, a notifier's identity will not be disclosed unless the disclosure:

  • is made with the consent of the person who gave the report/notification, or
  • is required or authorised by the Chief Executive or under the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017, or
  • is made by way of evidence and the court or tribunal is satisfied the disclosure is of critical importance in the proceedings and failure to admit it would prejudice the proper administration of justice, or
  • is reasonably necessary for the performance of the person’s official functions and duties, or the functions and duties of a State authority relating to the protection of children and young people from harm, or
  • is reasonably necessary to prevent harm, or further harm, being caused to a child or young person to whom the information relates.

Section 165(1) of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017requires that a person must not cause detriment (for example threaten, intimidate or cause damage, loss or disadvantage) to a mandated reporter/notifier because they have reported, or propose to report, suspected harm or risk.

Section 166(4) of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017requires that a mandated reporter/notifier who reports a suspicion in accordance with the Act cannot be held to have breached any code of professional etiquette or ethics, or to have departed from any acceptable form of professional conduct.