Child protection obligations in early childhood services

The Victorian Government has introduced a range of measures to better protect children.

The Child Safe Standards

The Child Safe Standards (CSS) require organisations involving children to have policies, procedures and practices to keep children safe.

Information and guidance for early childhood services about:

Your legal obligations to protect children

Information about the different legal obligations to protect children including:

duty of care obligations
criminal offences - failure to disclose, failure to protect
obligations under the Education and Care Services National Law and the Children’s Services Act 1996.

Mandatory reporting

All early childhood workers, including approved providers and volunteers are mandatory reporters.

They must make a report to Victoria Police or Child Protection, if:

in the course of practising their profession or carrying out duties of their office, position or employment
they form a belief on reasonable grounds that a child is in need of protection from physical injury or sexual abuse.

Access the free Mandatory Reporting eLearning module.

Reportable conduct

The Reportable Conduct Scheme requires organisations involving children to notify the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) of alleged abuse by workers or volunteers.

Approved providers of early childhood services must respond to allegations of child abuse (and other child-related misconduct) made against their workers and volunteers.

There are three inter-related information sharing schemes that allow professionals working with children to share information to: