Preserving evidence

How to preserve evidence and maintain the integrity of a crime scene until Victoria Police can attend. Content warning: This page includes descriptions of abuse and may be distressing to read. Information on how to access support for any issues that this content may raise for you is available at Wellbeing support for school staff.

If an incident of suspected child abuse occurs at the school, preserve items that may be evidence of the abuse. Leave the area where the incident occurred as you found it until Victoria Police can attend.

Consider the following issues when preserving evidence.

Open all

Environment

Where safe and appropriate to do so:

Do not clean up or move anything.
Close off the relevant area, room or building.
Take reasonable steps to make sure that no one enters the area.

Clothing

If you suspect sexual or physical abuse, where it is safe and appropriate to do so, take steps to make sure that the person who has allegedly committed the abuse and the student who has allegedly been abused remain in their clothing.

If it is not possible for the child to remain in their clothing:

Make sure that the clothes are not washed and are handled as little as possible.
Place each item of clothing in a separate sealable bag.

Other physical items

Where it is safe and appropriate to do so:

Avoid touching items that may amount to evidence, for example weapons.
Try to ensure that these things remain untouched.

Online/digital content

Preserve any CCTV evidence.
Keep notes of online threats or offending posts.
Keep notes of messages from phones noting the time, dates and frequency.
Keep notes of your observations of the circumstances leading up to the abuse.
Do not take screenshots or photos of illegal and restricted content, especially child sexual exploitation material.
Do not take photos of student injuries.

Explicit material

Do not keep or transmit any illegal or restricted online content to anyone.

Illegal and restricted online content refers to content such as images and videos showing sexual abuse of children or acts of terrorism. It includes content that should not be accessed by children, such as simulated sexual activity, detailed nudity or high impact violence.
Report any harmful material such as images or videos showing the sexual abuse of children.
Contact Victoria Police immediately for assistance in removing the material safely and completely from all devices. The devices may be evidence and should be handled minimally or not at all.
If dealing with explicit material:

Do not deliberately view the material. Use written descriptions to note the nature of the material, observations and times and dates of events.
Do not copy, print, delete or further share the material as it may be unlawful to do so. Leave this to the police if they become involved.
Do not, under any circumstances, send the images to yourself for evidence. To learn more about explicit material see, eSafety Illegal and Restricted Online Content.

Conducting searches and seizing items

Government schools should be guided by the department’s Weapons and Other Harmful Items – Banning, Searching and Seizing Policy. This policy supports principals to understand and implement their powers to ban, search for and seize harmful items.

Catholic and independent schools should be guided by their local school policy on searching or seizing items.

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Updated 30 March 2026

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