Protecting children against abuse is the shared responsibility of us all – families, the community, professionals and governments. All professionals have a duty of care to the children with whom they work. 

The Office for Children within the Victorian Department of Human Services provides the following information about child abuse:

Child abuse is an act by parents or caregivers that endangers a child or young person’s physical or emotional health or development. Child abuse can be a single incident, but usually takes place over time. Child abuse includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse or neglect. In Victoria, under the Children and Young Persons Act 1989 (Vic.) a child or young person is a person under seventeen years of age.

National Safe Schools Framework

The Schools Assistance Act 2004 (Cth.) requires schools to make a commitment that they will implement before 1 January 2006 the National Safe Schools Framework (NSSF) endorsed by the Ministerial Council of Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). To download a PDF of the NSSF, visit the MCEETYA
Website.

Key elements of the NSSF that stem from the Guiding Principles for the Provision of a Safe and Supportive School Environment in relation to child protection include:

• the establishment of agreed policies, programmes and procedures
• the provision of training for all staff
• the management of incidents of abuse
• provision of support for students.

Mandatory Reporting

Schools have a responsibility in the prevention and reporting of child abuse and neglect. 

The Child Protection Service at the Department of Human Services must be notified of any instance of possible or known child abuse.

Certain professionals are required under the Children and Young Person’s Act 1989 (Vic.), section 64 (1C) to report child physical and sexual abuse. 

These professionals, described as mandated notifiers include:

• primary school and secondary school teachers and principals
• medical practitioners and registered nurses
• members of the Victorian Police Force.

They must report to the Child Protection Service when they form a reasonable belief that a child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm as a result of physical injury or sexual abuse and if the child's parents or caregivers have not protected or are unlikely to protect the child.

Professionals not currently gazetted as being mandated notifiers but who are listed in section 64(1C) of the Act for future gazettal include:

• registered psychologists
• the proprietors of children’s service centres, to whom Part XIA of the Health Act 1958 (Vic.) applies
• employees of children’s service centres who have post-secondary qualifications in the care, education or minding of children
• persons working as youth workers and welfare workers who work in the health, education, welfare or community service field
• persons working as youth and child care officers for the Department of Human Services
• parole officers and probation officers.

School-based polices and procedures

Schools may develop policies and procedures to support the implementation of the mandatory reporting of child abuse.

It is important for such policies to recognise that in addition to the mandatory reporting obligation described above, teachers have a duty of care to protect students from harm that is reasonably foreseeable.

In implementing school policies, principals and teachers must be constantly aware of their responsibilities under the Children and Young Persons Act 1989 (Vic).

Many school policies request that teachers immediately discuss their concerns with the principal or another designated person before making a report to the Department of Human Services. If, after these discussions, the teacher continues to hold the belief that a child needs protection, the teacher is legally obliged to make a report to the Child Protection Service.

Resources

AISV has distributed to Member Schools a kit for staff professional learning, Safe From Harm: The Role of Professionals in Protecting Children and Young People, produced by the Victorian Department of Human Services in May 2001.

The Department’s Office for Children website includes the following information:

• What is child abuse?
• types of abuse
• causes of child abuse
• recognising abuse and neglect
• Making a report
• Regional Protective Services contact list
• After hours child protection contact line
• Child protection system
• responsibility for child protection
• child abuse – the law
• mandated notifiers
• responsibilities of mandated notifiers confidentiality