Mandatory Reporting

 Mandatory Reporting

New South Wales

New South Wales’ mandatory reporting laws cover an extensive list of professions, and the details of the reporting requirements are provided in the table below.

Legal provisions: Sections 23 and 27 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW)

Who is mandated to report? 

A person who, in the course of his or her professional work, or other paid employment, delivers health care, welfare, education, children’s services, residential services or law enforcement, wholly or partly, to children.

A person who holds a management position in an organization, whose duties include direct responsibility for, or direct supervision of, the provision of health care, welfare, education, children’s services, residential services or law enforcement, wholly or partly, to children

A person in a religious ministry, or a person providing religious-based activities to children

A registered psychologist providing a professional service as a psychologist

Note: Children’s services means either or both of the following (subject to the regulations): (a) an education and care service within the meaning of the Children (Education and Care Services) National Law (NSW); (b) a state regulated education and care service within the meaning of the Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions Act 2011.

What must be reported? 

Reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is at risk of significant harm, and the grounds arise during the course of or from the person’s work or specified role (as a mandated reporter)

Section 23(1) of the Child and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 states that a child or young person is at risk of significant harm if current concerns exist for the safety, welfare or wellbeing of the child or young person because of the presence, to a significant extent, of any one or more of the following circumstances:

The child’s or young person’s basic physical or psychological needs are not being met or are at risk of not being met.

The parents or other caregivers have not arranged and are unable or unwilling to arrange for the child or young person to receive necessary medical care.

In the case of a child or young person who is required to attend school in accordance with the Education Act 1990, the parents or other caregivers have not arranged and are unable or unwilling to arrange for the child or young person to receive an education in accordance with that Act.

The child or young person has been or is at risk of being physically or sexually abused or ill-treated.

The child or young person is living in a household where there have been incidents of domestic violence and, consequently, the child or young person is at risk of serious physical or psychological harm.

A parent or other caregiver has behaved in such a way towards the child or young person that the child or young person is at risk of suffering serious psychological harm.

The child was the subject of pre-natal report under section 25 of the Act and the birth mother did not engage successfully with support services to eliminate, or minimize to the lowest level reasonably practical, the risk factors that gave rise to the report.

When the report must be made: As soon as practicable.

Who mandatory reporters must report to: The Secretary.

Abuse and neglect types that must be reported: 

· Physical abuse

· Sexual abuse

· Emotional/psychological abuse

· Neglect

· Exposure to domestic violence