Mandatory reporting
Mandatory reporting is a term used to describe the legislative requirement for selected groups of people to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect to government authorities. Parliaments in all Australian states and territories have enacted mandatory reporting laws of some description. However, the laws are not the same across all jurisdictions. The main differences concern who has to report and what types of abuse and neglect have to be reported. There are also other differences, such as the “state of mind” that activates the reporting duty (i.e., having a concern, suspicion or belief on reasonable grounds – see Table 1) and the destination of the report.
This sheet focuses on the major differences and features of state and territory laws regarding who must report and what must be reported.
Who is mandated to make a notification?
The legislation generally contains lists of particular occupations that are mandated to report. The groups of people mandated to notify cases of suspected child abuse and neglect range from persons in a limited number of occupations (e.g., Qld), to a more extensive list (Vic., WA), to a very extensive list (ACT, NSW, SA, Tas.), through to every adult (NT; and Vic. for sexual offences). The occupations most commonly named as mandated reporters are those who deal frequently with children in the course of their work: teachers, doctors, nurses and police.
What types of abuse are mandated reporters required to report?
In addition to differences describing who is a mandated reporter across jurisdictions, there are differences in the types of abuse and neglect that must be reported. In some jurisdictions it is mandatory to report suspicions of each of the four classical types of abuse and neglect abuse (i.e., physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect). In other jurisdictions it is mandatory to report only some of the abuse types (e.g., Vic., ACT). Some jurisdictions also require reports of exposure of children to domestic violence (e.g., NSW, Tas.).
It is important to note that in most jurisdictions the legislation generally specifies that except for sexual abuse (where all suspicions must be reported), it is only cases of significant abuse and neglect that must be reported (see Table 1 for jurisdictions that specify the extent of harm). Reflecting the original intention of the laws, the duty does not apply to any instance ofl “abuse” or “neglect” but only to cases that are of sufficiently significant harm to the child’s health or wellbeing to warrant intervention or service provision. However, reflecting the qualitative differences presented by sexual abuse as opposed to other forms of abuse and neglect, five jurisdictions apply the reporting duty to all suspected cases of sexual abuse without requiring the reporter to exercise any discretion about the extent of harm that may have been caused or that may be likely (ACT, NT, SA, Tas., WA).
In the other three jurisdictions (NSW, Qld, Vic.), the practical application of the duty to report sexual abuse would still result in reports of all suspected sexual abuse being required, as sexual abuse should always create a suspicion of significant harm. Suspicions of less severe child abuse and neglect may be referred to child and family welfare agencies, especially where jurisdictions have made more extensive provision for this (e.g., Vic., NSW, Tas.). It is important to note that the duty to report also applies to suspicions that significant abuse or neglect is likely to occur in the future, not only suspected cases of significant abuse or neglect that have already happened.
Table 2 provides an overview of the key features of the legislation in each state and territory: who must report, and what must be reported.
