Reporting abuse of children and young people
In an Emergency
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or an emergency situation, call emergency services on 000 (triple zero).
If you are on campus you can also call UNE Safety and Security (02) 67732099.
Report a concern
If you or someone you know has experienced or witnessed any child abuse, or any inappropriate concerning behaviour involving a child, a young person, or a vulnerable adult, you can report it - either anonymously or with your contact details:
- Safe Communities or call (02) 6773 3994
- Grapevine
- Workplace relations
NSW Reportable Conduct Scheme
The NSW Reportable Conduct Scheme monitors how organisations, like the University, investigate and report on allegations of certain conduct towards children as stated under the Children's Guardian Act 2019.
Under the scheme, as a 'public authority', the University holds legal obligations to notify the Office of the Children’s Guardian of any work-related reportable allegations or convictions against our employees. The University must also notify the Office of the Children’s Guardian of reportable allegations or convictions that happen outside of work where the employee, volunteer or contractor is required to hold a WWCC for their work with the University.
Reportable allegation: A reportable allegation is an allegation that the employee has engaged in conduct that may be reportable conduct.
Reportable conviction: A conviction (including a finding of guilt without the court proceeding to a conviction), in NSW or elsewhere, of an offence involving reportable conduct.
Reportable conduct: Certain defined conduct that falls within this definition and includes:
- Sexual abuse
- Physical harm
- Psychological harm
- Exposure to adult themes or concepts
- Exploitation through excessive work hours
- Educational neglect
- Employment where the employer does not hold a current employer's authority
The University must notify the Office of the Children’s Guardian of the reportable allegation or reportable conviction within 7 business days of becoming aware of it.
If you have concerns about a child or young person, the first thing to do is report it.
If, after speaking with the university, you still have concerns, then you can report the university to the Office of the Children's Guardian. The Office of the Children's Guardian does not deal directly with complaints or concerns about the risk of harm to individual children.
All UNE Representatives must report any concerns for a child or young person, whether they suspect, have witnessed, or are made aware via a third party (including a child), that an employee of the University has engaged in conduct that may be reportable or that the employee is the subject of a conviction that is considered a reportable conviction. A report must be made or provided, in strict confidence, to Safe Communities immediately (that is, on the same working day within 24hrs). Reports can be made confidentially: Safe Communities will triage the report, inform the Director of People and Culture (as delegate for the Vice-Chancellor), and engage the appropriate support and internal process. This may include reporting to an external agency such as the Police or the Office of the Children's Guardian. The University must notify the Office of the Children’s Guardian of reportable allegations and convictions against our employees, investigate the allegation, advise the OCG of the outcome, and take appropriate action to prevent reportable conduct by employees. A notification to the Office of the Children’s Guardian must be made within 7 business days of becoming aware of a reportable allegation or conviction against an employee of the University. As soon as practicable after receiving the report, the reportable allegation or conviction is to be investigated and determined. The investigation will be completed within a reasonable time, having regard to the principles of procedural fairness and the mandatory considerations outlined in Division 6 of the Act. At the end of the investigation of a reportable allegation, the university must send a report to the Office of the Children’s Guardian that enables the Office of the Children’s Guardian to determine whether the investigation was carried out satisfactorily and whether appropriate action was or can be taken. The Child Protection Helpline is the NSW Department of Communities and Justice contact centre for community members and mandatory reporters to report children and young people who are at risk of significant harm in NSW. The following link assists with reporters identifying signs of abuse & risk of significant harm as well as what steps can be taken to report to the Child Protection Helpline: See Reporting a child at risk. If you think a child or young person is at risk of harm from abuse or neglect, contact the Helpline on 13 21 11 or see NSW DCJ Reporting Harm and Keeping Children Safe. The DCJ 'I want to report child abuse' provides good guidance on reporting and what you can do. People who cannot speak English can contact the Helpline using an interpreter by calling the Translation and Interpreter Service on 131 450. Callers will need to tell them the language they speak and that they wish to call the NSW Child Protection Helpline. This is a free service. In NSW it is a crime for a parent or other person responsible for the care of a child to fail to provide adequate food, accommodation/shelter, medical aid, nursing and clothing to a child. It is also an offence in some circumstances to leave a child or young person in a car without proper supervision. Any harm caused to a child, including physical harm, neglect, sexual abuse and emotional abuse can be considered a crime in NSW. Matters in the first instance should be directed through your local police station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. If you think a child or young person is at risk of significant harm, contact the Child Protection Helpline on 132 111 (open 24 hours/7 days). Where appropriate the Child Protection Helpline will refer reports to the Joint Child Protection Response Program (JCPRP) via the Joint Referral Unit (JRU). The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) is the Australian Government’s independent online safety regulator. The purpose is to help safeguard Australians at risk of online harms and to promote safer, more positive online experiences especially children and young people. When prevention measures fail, eSafety provides a safety net for Australian children and young people harmed by serious online abuse or exposed to illegal and restricted content. eSafety has legal powers to protect children and young people across most online services and platforms, via the complaints reporting schemes. eSafety will investigate complaints and help to stop, remove and limit the impacts of cyberbullying of children, adult cyber abuse, image-based abuse (sharing or threatening to share intimate images and videos without the consent of the person shown), as well as illegal and restricted online content. Where appropriate, the investigators work with the online industry to resolve individual complaints. Where a collaborative approach is not appropriate or sufficient to protect Australians, we draw on our robust range of regulatory options. The eSafety Commissioner website provides all the information you need to Report Online Abuse. Mandatory reporting is the legislative requirement for selected classes of people to report suspected child abuse and neglect to government authorities. In NSW, mandatory reporting is regulated by the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (the Care Act). In NSW, mandatory reporting obligations apply to those who deliver the following services wholly or partly to children as part of their professional work or other paid employment. It also includes those in management positions in organisations that deliver these services: People in religious ministries, people who provide religion-based activities to children and registered psychologists are also mandatory reporters. A mandatory reporter must make a report when they have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is at Risk of Significant Harm (ROSH) and those grounds arise in the course of, or from, their work or role. A mandatory reporter must report, as soon as practicable, the name or a description of the child, and the grounds for suspecting that the child is at ROSH. Under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998: "child" means a person who is under the age of 16 years. "young person" means a person who is aged 16 years or above but who is under the age of 18 years.Helpline for non-English speakers
What is mandatory reporting?
Who are mandatory reporters?
