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Report (mandatory report): respond to child abuse in the family

Guidance on how to report child abuse when it’s a mandatory report. Report is one of the 4 Critical Actions.

Schools

As soon as you believe a student has been or is at risk of being abused by someone in the family, you must act.

4 CRITICAL ACTIONS

⬣ Identify ▲ Report ● Support ■ Refer

Also see

On this page

Report to Child Protection (including a mandatory report)

Report abuse to Child Protection. If you think a child or young person may need protection from abuse, ask:

and

If the parents or carers have not protected or are unlikely to protect the student from significant harm, call Child Protection, and make a report.

You must report physical abuse or sexual abuse to Child Protection. These are mandatory reports.

What are significant harm and reasonable grounds?

Significant harm is harm that is more than minor. It has a serious effect on a child’s health, safety, or development. It doesn’t need to cause permanent damage, but it must be important and affect the child’s wellbeing. Read the full definition.

Reasonable grounds are a reasonable belief that a child has been, is being or is at risk of being abused or neglected. You don’t need proof - just enough information to make a reasonable person concerned. Read the full definition.

Other reports to Child Protection

You can report significant harm related to:

You can also contact Child Protection if you hold significant wellbeing concerns for a student. This includes all concerns that:

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During business hours (8:45 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday)

Call the Child Protection intake service for the student’s local government area (LGA):

After hours

Call the after-hours service: 13 12 78

If you are unsure which number to call, find which LGAs are in each intake service at Child Protection contacts.

You cannot make Child Protection reports via the DFFH website or email.

Provide Child Protection with information that explains your concerns. Include any completed family violence tools. This helps them decide what action to take.

If support is limited or not immediately available, you can contact:

Child Protection can:

Do not stop here

Follow the rest of the steps on this page, then continue to support and refer the student.

After you report

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Before engaging with parents and carers, you need clearance from:

You must contact the parents or carers as soon as possible. Ideally, this should happen on the same day.

Child Protection will:

Do not engage with the student or their family if:

Report to Victoria Police

When you make a report, Child Protection will tell you whether you should also call Victoria Police to report a crime. See report (crime).

Government schools

After you make a report to Child Protection, you must also report the incident.

You can report by:

The incident report will notify relevant regional or centralised services. These services will help your school arrange support for affected students and staff. See support for further details.

Catholic schools

After you make a report to Child Protection, you must report the incident to your relevant school governing body. See a list of all school governing bodies.

A mandatory report may also constitute reportable conduct if the family member is also a staff member or school volunteer who is alleged to have caused impact to the safety or wellbeing of a student**.**

The school’s governing body is responsible for:

Independent schools

You can contact Independent Schools Victoria to obtain advice or support, including if you are unsure and need advice on reporting.

If Victoria Police or Child Protection wants to interview a student about abuse, refer to interviews with students at school.

Record the steps your schools has taken to report. You can use the identifying and responding to child abuse template.

See document your actions.

You can still act if you’re worried about a student’s wellbeing:

This could be reportable conduct. See abuse by an adult in the school.

Next steps

Continue the 4 Critical Actions

After you report, continue to support the student and refer them to community services.

Check with Child Protection on when to take these actions.

⬣ Identify ▲ Report ● Support ■ Refer

If you need support, see wellbeing support for school staff.

Education & training

Updated 10 April 2026

At all times

Throughout the 4 Critical Actions, you must:

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