Reforms to various child protection laws have been implemented in Queensland. The amendments to the Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld) (the Child Protection Act) introduce the requirement for the mandatory reporting of any reasonable suspicion of harm to a child caused by physical or sexual abuse. These laws came into effect on 19 January 2015. Similar laws are already in place in States such as New South Wales and Victoria. Although the reforms are aimed at consolidating various different reporting obligations, schools in Queensland are still faced with a complex array of reporting requirements.

These reforms also affect the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Regulation 2001 (the Regulations), which all non-state schools are required to comply with.

The Explanatory Memorandum states that the objective of the new law is to 'consolidate various mandatory reporting obligations currently contained in other legislation and departmental policies' into the Child Protection Act. Despite this aim, child protection in Queensland non-state schools remains a convoluted and multi-tiered system. There are different obligations for different people, with respect to 'sexual abuse' and 'likely sexual abuse' or 'significant harm from physical or sexual abuse'.

New mandatory reporting obligations for teachers

First, teachers (and registered nurses) are now under a statutory obligation to report a 'reportable suspicion'. These reports are to be made to Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services (the Department). This change puts the onus on teachers to report any suspicions of harm, rather than just reporting to their principal.

A 'reportable suspicion' is defined to be a reasonable suspicion that the child:

• has suffered, is suffering, or is at unacceptable risk of suffering, significant harm from physical or sexual abuse; and
• may not have a parent able and willing to protect the child from harm.

Once a person has a reasonable suspicion of these two criteria, he or she must make a mandatory report.

The reforms to teachers' mandatory reporting requirements allow teachers to share information with colleagues for the purposes of fulfilling obligations under the mandatory reporting legislation. A teacher may confer and share information with a colleague in order to make a report.

A non-state school must also have policies to support the implementation of these obligations for teachers.

Interestingly, the new reforms mean that school staff members who are not teachers, are no longer required to make mandatory reports of harm or likely harm to children (however, they still have other reporting obligations under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (Qld) (the Education Act)).

Continuing sexual abuse reporting obligations for teachers

These reforms do not affect the existing requirements of all schools in Queensland, including the requirement to have a process for reporting sexual abuse or likely sexual abuse of children. These obligations, which stem from the Education Act remain unchanged. These obligations are in addition to the mandatory reporting requirements.

Policy implementation requirements

The Regulations require an additional policy for allegations made against staff members, and another policy for how the information must be dealt with once reported.

In addition to formulating these policies, the new regime (as set out in amendments to the Regulations) makes the governing body (the school council or board of directors) responsible for:

• making staff, students and parents aware of the mandatory reporting policy;
• training staff in implementing this policy;
• ensuring that the policy is implemented by the school; and
• making the policy readily accessible by the staff, students and parents.

Complaints Handling

Also included in changes to the Regulations is a requirement that a school must have 'a written complaints procedure to address allegations of non-compliance' with its child protection processes. It further states that this complaints procedure 'may form part of any other written procedure of the school for dealing with complaints', suggesting that regulators anticipate that schools already have complaints handling policies in place. Our previous articles about complaints handling processes provide guidance on implementing robust complaints handling policies and procedures.

Optional reporting for any person

In addition to the mandatory reporting obligations of teachers and school staff, the changes to the Child Protection Act also allow any person to make a report that a child 'may be in need of protection', or that 'an unborn child may be in need of protection after he or she is born'. If a person makes such a report, they will have protection from civil or criminal liability or liability under an administrative process.

Conclusion

The new changes hardly make the task of protecting children easier. Child protection is a complex area of policy, which is made no less opaque by a confusing web of reporting requirements. Although the process of reform continues for the time being, schools must do their best to ensure that they are fulfilling their duty of care to students, whilst complying with a convoluted array of obligations.

In summary, to comply with child protection laws in Queensland, non-state schools require a policy for:

• the mandatory reporting by teachers and registered nurses of a 'reportable suspicion' (and a policy for referring students to child support services where a teacher may have less than a 'reportable suspicion');
• reporting by school staff of 'sexual abuse or likely sexual abuse';
• a student to report to a Child Protection Contact an allegation of inappropriate behaviour by a staff member;
• how the Child Protection Contact must deal with that information; and
• any other person to report that 'a child may be in need of protection'.

In addition, the governing body of a non-state school is required to ensure that it has met its obligations in relation to ensuring that staff, students and parents are aware of the policies, and trained in them, as set out above under 'Policy Implementation Requirements'.