Reporting child abuse: the law

Child abuse reporting laws make keeping children and young people safe a shared community responsibility.

The laws cover:

• people who should report suspected child abuse and neglect, called voluntary reporters
• professions who must report child abuse and neglect, called mandated reporters
• workplaces who must investigate and report claims of child abuse or misconduct by their staff under the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

Voluntary reporting of abuse and neglect

Any person who is concerned about a child can report to Child and Youth Protection Services (CYPS). This is called voluntary reporting.

You should report it if you believe or suspect a child or young person:

• is being abused
• is being neglected
• is at risk of abuse or neglect.

You can also report an unborn child if you think they may be at risk after birth.

Find out how to report child abuse or neglect.

Mandatory reporting of sexual and physical abuse

Mandatory reporting is a legal requirement for some professionals and unpaid workers who work with children to report information they find out through their work.

Mandated reporters must report if they believe a child they work with has experienced or is experiencing:

• sexual abuse
• non-accidental physical injury.

Mandated reporters do not have to report the abuse if someone else has already reported the same abuse of the same child.

Mandated reporters

You're a mandated reporter if you're a:

• doctor, dentist, nurse, midwife
• teacher and counsellors at a school, paid teacher’s assistant or aide
• person authorised to inspect education programs, materials or records used for home education
• childcare worker or a person monitoring a home-based care for a family day care provider
• police officer
• psychologist
• public servant whose work provides services to children or families
• the public advocate or an official visitor
• the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Commissioner
• ministers of religion or religious leader
• a person who in the course of their employment has contact with or provides services to children and their families and is prescribed by regulation.

If you’re a mandated reporter, you must report allegations of sexual and physical abuse to Child and Youth Protection Services.

What you must report to the police

If you believe child sexual abuse has already been committed, you must report it to the police.

Where there is a substantial risk that sexual abuse will be committed, the Crimes Act 1900 requires that people in authority take steps to prevent the sexual abuse from happening. This applies to:

• schools
• religious organisations
• hospitals
• childcare centres
• out-of-home carers
• sports clubs and youth organisations.

If you don’t report

It is an offence if you don’t report child abuse that you know is happening. If you’re not sure if it’s child abuse or neglect, call Child and Youth Protection Services.

Mandated reporters who don’t report can be charged or spend 6 months in prison or both.

If you knowingly make a false or misleading report

It is an offence to make a false or misleading report. You should only report if you have genuine concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child.

Voluntary and mandated reporters can be charged or spend 6 months in prison or both.

Protecting reporters

Voluntary and mandated reporters are protected under law.

We cannot give a reporter’s identity to any other person, except in certain exceptional circumstances.

Protection from prosecution

If you have been honest but CYPS investigates your allegation and finds the child is not at risk, you cannot be:

• accused of making a false allegation
• held legally or professionally liable.

Investigating child abuse

Who's responsible for investigating child abuse depends on where it's happening.

Abuse or neglect happening in the family

Child and Youth Protection Services is responsible for investigating the wellbeing of Canberra’s children who may be at risk of abuse or neglect by a family member or guardian.

Abuse or neglect outside the family

Police are responsible for investigating allegations of child abuse or neglect outside the family.

Abuse, neglect or convictions by staff

Some workplaces must investigate and report claims of child abuse or misconduct by their staff, called the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

What the law says

Read more about what the law says.

Children and Young People Act 2008

• Mandatory reporting (section 356 to 358)
• Voluntary reporting of abuse and neglect (section 354 and 355)

Crimes Act 1900

• Failure to report child sexual offence to the police (section 66AA)
• Making false report about child sexual offence (section 66AB)
• Failure by person in authority to protect child or young person from sexual offence (section 66A)