Reporting child abuse and neglect
Information for service providers
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Overview
This resource sheet provides information to service providers and practitioners working in the child, family and community welfare sector on how to report suspected child abuse and neglect. It defines child abuse and neglect, and provides contact details for the reporting authority in each state and territory.
Introduction
In Australia, state and territory governments are responsible for receiving reports of suspected child abuse and neglect from members of the public. Reporting child abuse and neglect is a community-wide responsibility. Anyone who suspects, on reasonable grounds, that a child or young person1 is at risk of being abused and/or neglected should report it to the reporting authority in their state or territory.
Certain groups of people are required by law to report any suspicion of abuse or neglect of a child or young person to government authorities. Further information and guidelines regarding mandatory reporting can be found in the CFCA Resource Sheet: Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect.
If a child or young person has disclosed abuse or neglect to you, it is important to stay calm and reassure them that you will help them to be safe. For information on how to respond to disclosures of abuse, see the CFCA Practitioner Resource: Responding to Children and Young People's Disclosures of Abuse and CFCA webinar: Responding to disclosures of child abuse and neglect.
Parents and other family members may disclose to you concerns about not coping with their parenting responsibilities. Listening and providing support and practical help is important, while assessing whether there is a child at risk of abuse or neglect. Contact details and links to helplines and telephone counselling services that provide information, counselling support and service referral can be found in the CFCA Resource Sheet: Helplines, Telephone and Online Counselling Services for Children, Young People and Adults.
1 In Australia, a child is defined as any human under the age of 18 years (AIHW, 2018).
Defining child abuse and neglect
Child abuse and neglect refers to any behaviour or treatment by parents, caregivers, other adults or older adolescents that results in the actual and/or likelihood of causing physical or emotional harm to a child or young person. Such behaviours may be intentional or unintentional and can include acts of omission (i.e. neglect) and commission (i.e. abuse) (CFCA, 2018).
Child abuse and neglect is commonly divided into five subtypes:
- physical abuse
- emotional abuse
- neglect
- sexual abuse
- exposure to family violence.
For further information, see the CFCA Resource Sheet: What is Child Abuse and Neglect?.
Contact details for each state and territory
The tables below include the contact details of the reporting authority in each Australian state and territory:
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
Please note that you do not need to be absolutely certain that there has been abuse or neglect of a child or young person to contact these authorities. If you suspect a child is at risk of harm, you should call the authority to discuss your concerns, and they will decide whether an investigation is required.
In each state and territory, all serious concerns should be reported by phone rather than online or via email. Serious concerns include when you suspect a child or young person is in imminent or immediate danger of serious harm, serious injury or chronic neglect.
| Reporting authority | Further services/information | Contact details |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Communities and Justice | The Department of Communities and Justice is responsible for handling reports of child abuse and neglect in New South Wales. Information about the process of reporting child welfare concerns can be found on the department's Reporting a Child at Risk webpage. For information about mandatory reporting, refer to the Mandatory reporters webpage. | Phone: Online: |
| Reporting authority | Further services/information | Contact details |
|---|---|---|
| Territory Families, Housing and Communities | In the Northern Territory, every person is required to report suspected child abuse and neglect. For further information about the process of reporting concerns about a child's welfare in the Northern Territory, refer to the Report Child Abuse page of the department's website. | Phone: Child Abuse Hotline Ph: 1800 700 250 (24 hours) |
| Reporting authority | Further services/information | Contact details |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs | Child Safety is the lead child protection agency in Queensland. For information about the process of reporting concerns about a child's welfare in Queensland, refer to the Protecting Children webpage of the department's website. For more information about mandatory reporting, refer to the Mandatory Reporting in Queensland webpage. | Phone: Child Safety After Hours Service Centre Ph: 1800 177 135 |
| Reporting authority | Further services/information | Contact details |
|---|---|---|
| Department for Child Protection | The Department for Child Protection works to keep South Australia's children safe by protecting them from abuse and neglect. For information about the process of reporting concerns about a child's welfare in South Australia, refer to the department's Report Child Abuse webpage. The Department for Child Protection provides additional information for mandatory reporting, including Mandated Notifiers and Their Role and Preparing to Report Child Abuse. | Phone: Online: |
| Reporting authority | Further services/information | Contact details |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Communities Tasmania | The role of the Child Safety Service is to protect children and young people who are at risk of abuse and neglect in Tasmania. For information about the process of reporting concerns about a child's welfare in Tasmania, refer to the department's Child Safety Service webpage. Information about mandatory reporting and making a notification can be found on the department's Child safety notifications webpage. | Phone: Online: |
| Reporting authority | Further services/information | Contact details |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Families, Fairness and Housing | The Child Protection Service is specifically targeted to those children and young people at risk of significant harm in Victoria. For information about child protection and mandatory reporting requirements in Victoria, refer to the department's Child Protection webpage. | Phone: After hours child protection emergency service |
| Reporting authority | Further services/information | Contact details |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Communities, Child Protection and Family Support | The Department of Communities, Child Protection and Family Support offers a range of services to support children and families in Western Australia. For further information about the process of reporting concerns about a child's welfare, refer to the department's If You are Concerned About a Child webpage. Information about mandatory reporting in Western Australia can be found on the department's mandatory reporting information webpage. | Phone: After hours Online: |
References
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). (2018). Child protection Australia 2016-2017 (Vol. cat. no. CWS 63). Canberra: AIHW.
- Child Family Community Australia (CFCA). (2018). What is child abuse and neglect? (CFCA Resource Sheet). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies. Retrieved from aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/what-child-abuse-and-neglect
This resource sheet was updated by Claire Farrugia, who at the time of writing was a Senior Research Officer with the Child Family Community Australia information exchange at the Australian Institute of Family Studies.
The feature image is by Jessica, CC BY-NC 2.0.