Your reporting and legal obligations

Information on your reporting and legal obligations for suspected child abuse within or outside of school grounds.

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From Term 2 2021, the Child Information Sharing Scheme, the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme, and the Family violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework will expand to include a range of Victorian education and care workforces.

Many organisations already work together to do this and many Victorian education and care workforces will become part of a system of sharing, requesting and using information about child wellbeing or safety. It will allow professionals working with children to gain a complete view of the children they work with, making it easier to identify wellbeing or safety needs earlier and to act on them sooner.

Resources to support child wellbeing and safety

A range of resources is available to ensure that Victorian education and care workforces have the knowledge and information needed to work consistently and collaboratively to identify and respond to child wellbeing and safety needs.

The following resources are for:

  • centre-based education and care services
  • government, Catholic and independent schools
  • system and statutory bodies
  • education health, wellbeing and inclusion workforces.

They are designed to help organisations prepare their workplaces for implementation and provide guidance on how to share information confidently, safely and appropriately under these new reforms to improve children's wellbeing and safety.

These resources complement the delivery of Information Sharing and Family Violence Reforms briefings and online modules for education and care workforces. They should be adapted and used as appropriate in alignment with existing organisational requirements and procedures.

Understanding your obligations to protect children

As members of a community, we all have a moral obligation to protect any child under our care and supervision from reasonably foreseeable harm.

As a school staff member, you play a critical role in protecting children and must meet a range of legal obligations to identify, respond and report child abuse.

The easiest way to comply with your legal and moral obligations is to remember that you must report any reasonable suspicion that a child has been abused, or is at risk of being abused, by following the Four Critical Actions.

This includes abuse that has or is suspected to have, taken place within or outside of school grounds and hours.

This section sets out your legal obligations in further detail.

Understanding our obligations to respond to child abuse

Watch this video to learn about types of abuse and common signs of abuse.

Understanding our obligations to respond to child abuse.
View transcript

Duty of care obligations

As a school staff member, you have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect children under your care and supervision from harm that is reasonably foreseeable.

Who does this apply to?

Applies to all school staff. Your duty of care also extends to students who are:

Aged 17 years and over

In circumstances where you suspect that a student over the age of 17 is subject to abuse you should still follow the Four Critical Actions for Schools. Although the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) Child Protection generally work with children under 17 they can still be contacted with concerns relating to students 17 and over for referral and advice. Other services, such as the Orange Door, can provide services and support to adolescents.

Involved in student sexual behaviour

You have a duty of care towards all students involved in student sexual behaviour, including students exhibiting concerning or harmful behaviours, students impacted by such behaviours, and any other students in the school who may have witnessed or been affected by the sexual behaviour.

For more information, refer to Identifying and Respond to Student Sexual Offending.

What must schools do?

The Four Critical Actions outlines steps to take and services to refer to depending on your assessment of the child’s situation. You must follow the Four Critical Actions, including reporting to Victoria Police or the DFFH Child Protection, or refer to other services like Child FIRST/The Orange Door, to ensure that you fulfil your duty of care obligations.

For more information, refer to Report abuse.

What does 'reasonable steps' mean?

The question of what constitutes 'reasonable steps' will depend on the individual circumstances of each case.

You may breach your duty of care towards a student if you fail to act in the way a reasonable or diligent professional would have acted in the same situation.

In relation to suspected child abuse, reasonable steps may include (but are not necessarily limited to):

  • acting on concerns and suspicions of abuse as soon as practicable
  • seeking appropriate advice or consulting with other professionals or agencies when the school staff member is unsure of what steps to take
  • reporting the suspected child abuse to appropriate authorities such as Victoria Police and DFFH Child Protection
  • arranging counselling or other appropriate welfare support for the child
  • providing ongoing support to the child – this may include attending DFFH Child Protection Case Planning meetings, and convening regular Student Support Group meetings
  • sharing information with other school-based staff who will also be responsible for monitoring and providing ongoing support to the child.

More information

For more information, refer to Report abuse.

Mandatory reporting

A mandatory reporter who fails to comply with reporting obligations may be committing a criminal offence.

Who does this apply to?

There are certain classes of professionals who are classified as "mandatory reporters". Within a school mandatory reporters include all:

  • Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) registered teachers, including principals
  • staff who have been granted permission to teach by the VIT
  • registered doctors and nurses
  • registered psychologists
  • school counsellors, which means a person who works (other than on a voluntary basis) to provide direct support to school students, at or directly connected with a school, for mental, emotional or psychological wellbeing
  • people in religious ministry.

What must schools do?

All mandatory reporters must make a report to Victoria Police or DFFH Child Protection as soon as practicable if, during the course of carrying out their professional roles and responsibilities, they form a belief on reasonable grounds that:

  • a child has suffered or is likely to suffer, significant harm as a result of physical abuse or sexual abuse
  • the child's parents have not protected, or are unlikely to protect, the child from harm of that type.

It is a criminal offence not to report in these circumstances.

Mandatory reporters must also follow the Four Critical Actions to ensure they fulfil all their legal obligations.

Failure to disclose

Failure to disclose is a criminal offence.

This offence applies to all adults (not just professionals who work with children) who:

  • form a reasonable belief that another adult may have committed a sexual offence against a child under 16 years of age
  • fail to report this information to Victoria Police.

A person will not be guilty of the offence if they have a reasonable excuse for not disclosing the information. A reasonable excuse includes:

  • a reasonable fear for their own or another person’s safety
  • a reasonable belief that the information has already been disclosed to Victoria Police or DFFH Child Protection and the person has no new information to add to the disclosure.

Failing to disclose a sexual offence based on concerns for the interests of the perpetrator or organisation (for example: concerns about reputation, legal liability or financial status) will not be regarded as a reasonable excuse.

Additional exemptions apply where:

  • the victim is aged 16 years or over and requests confidentiality
  • the person is a child when they formed a reasonable belief
  • the information would be privileged
  • the information is a confidential communication disclosed to a counsellor or a registered medical practitioner (for example: in a school context, this exemption may apply to a psychologist or a social worker who engages in a counselling relationship with the victim of a sexual offence)
  • the information is in the public domain
  • police officers are acting in the course of their duty.

What must schools do?

All adults, not just professionals who work with children, have a legal obligation to report to Victoria Police formed a reasonable belief that another adult may have committed a sexual offence against a child under the age of 16.

More information

For more information, visit Failure to disclose the offence.

Failure to protect

Failure to protect is a criminal offence.

Who does this apply to?

This offence applies to a person in a position of authority within an organisation who:

  • knows of a substantial risk that a child under the age of 16, under the care, supervision or authority of the organisation will become a victim of a sexual offence committed by an adult associated with the organisation (for example employee, contractors, volunteer, visitor)
  • has the power or responsibility to remove that risk
  • negligently fails to remove or reduce the risk of harm.

Within a school setting, a position of authority includes:

  • principals
  • assistant principals
  • staff in institutional management positions (for example: in government schools, this includes Regional Directors and other senior managers).

What must schools do?

Any staff member in a position of authority who becomes aware that an adult associated with their organisation (employee, contractor, visitor) poses a substantial risk of committing a sexual offence against any child under the age of 16 under their care, supervision or authority, must take all reasonable steps to remove or reduce that risk.

More information

For further information on these offences, refer to:

Doctors in Secondary Schools can refer to Information sharing requirements.

Ministerial Order No 1359: Child Safe Standards

All Victorian schools and school boarding premises must comply with Ministerial Order 1359 – Implementing the Child Safe Standards – managing the risk of child abuse in schools and school boarding premises (PDF, 363KB), in order to be registered, and remain registered with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA).

Who does this apply to?

Applies to all Victorian schools and school boarding premises.

School governing authorities have responsibility for ensuring that schools meet all of the obligations set out within the Order.

What must schools do?

All Victorian schools and school boarding premises must:

  • embed a culture of 'no tolerance' for child abuse
  • comply with the 11 Child Safe Standards.

The Child Safe Standards are compulsory minimum standards for all Victorian schools to ensure they are well prepared to keep children and young people safe and protect them from abuse.

More information

For more information, refer to Ministerial Order 1359 – Implementing the Child Safe Standards – managing the risk of child abuse in schools and school boarding premises (PDF, 363KB).

For support on how to meet these obligations, refer to guidance on the Child Safe Standards.

Reportable conduct scheme

The department has a responsibility to report any allegations of 'reportable conduct' raised against department employees who are over 18 years to the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP).

There is an allegation of reportable conduct where a person has a 'reasonable belief' that there has been:

  • a sexual offence, sexual misconduct or physical violence committed against, with or in the presence of a child
  • behaviour causing significant emotional or psychological harm to a child
  • significant neglect of a child
  • misconduct involving any of the above.

The scope of ‘reportable conduct’ is wide, and includes:

  • information about something that is alleged to have occurred outside the course of the person’s employment or engagement with the school.
  • sexual offences, sexual misconduct or physical violence committed in the presence of a child (which may include family violence committed by a school staff member in front of their own child).

However, student-to-student abuse is not covered by the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

Who does this apply to?

All department employees (including a principal, teacher, corporate staff member or school council employee), contractors, volunteers, or allied health staff members.

What must schools do?

To ensure you fulfil all of your legal obligations, principals or other school staff should follow the Four Critical Actions. These actions will support you to follow the notification steps required by the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

Government schools

To respond to an allegation of reportable conduct in a government school, principals or other school personnel do not need to make a report directly to the Commission for Children and Young People.

Government school staff members should notify the principal of the allegation, and government school principals must then notify the Employee Conduct Branch on (03) 7022 0005 as soon as possible. The Employee Conduct Branch will then report the allegation to the Commission for Children and Young People, on behalf of the department.

Catholic schools

To respond to an allegation of reportable conduct in a Catholic school, principals should contact:

Independent schools

Independent school principals should directly contact the Commission for Children and Young People.

More information

The Reportable Conduct Scheme does not change a person’s mandatory reporting or other reporting obligations. For example: school staff must still contact Victoria Police if they suspect a criminal offence involving a child has occurred, in addition to following the notification steps required by the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

Further information regarding the Scheme is available at:

Report a child in need of therapeutic treatment

Any member of the public is able to report concerns about a child's (who is aged at least 10 and under 18 years) sexually abusive behaviour to the DFFH Child Protection.

DFFH Child Protection may make an application to the Children's Court for a therapeutic treatment order if it assesses that:

  • the child is in need of therapeutic treatment; and
  • the child or the child’s parents or carers are unable or unwilling to access treatment.

These orders require the child who is the subject of the order to attend an appropriate treatment program to address their sexually abusive behaviours. They may also have conditions requiring the child's parents or carers to take any necessary steps to enable the child to attend the treatment.

Reporting to DFFH Child Protection in relation to a child who may be in need of therapeutic treatment does not replace your requirement to report student sexual offending to Victoria Police.

In relation to children and young people exhibiting sexually abusive behaviour:

  • children under 10 years old cannot be held criminally responsible.
  • children aged 10-17 years can be granted a therapeutic treatment order as an alternative pathway to treatment that does not involve criminal prosecution.
  • therapeutic treatment can be extended beyond a child’s 18th birthday, on the order of a court where Child Protection has assessed this as appropriate.

Related policies and guidance

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