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Report: respond to child abuse by an adult engaged by a Catholic school

Guidance on how to report child abuse to authorities. Report is one of the 4 Critical Actions.

Schools

Any allegation, complaint, disclosure or concern of abuse (including grooming) by an adult engaged by a school may be reportable conduct under Victoria’s Reportable Conduct Scheme and must be reported.

4 CRITICAL ACTIONS

⬣ Identify ▲ Report ● Support ■ Refer

On this page

Report abuse to the authorities

Report crime to Victoria Police

If you believe a crime against a child has been committed, you must make a report to Victoria Police.

Common crimes against children include:

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Victoria Police can:

Reports should be made as soon as reasonably practicable from when a report is received, as some crimes have a limitation period that may apply.

There is no time limit to report a crime about sexual abuse. Victoria Police will accept and assess all reports, no matter when the alleged crime occurred.

If you’re unsure if a crime happened, contact the school’s governing body as soon as possible for advice on reporting to police.

Report to the school’s relevant governing body

You must report as soon as possible. Notify your school’s relevant governing body. See a list of school governing bodies.

If a staff member learns about any allegation, complaint, disclosure or concern that an adult engaged by a school in any capacity may be abusing a child, including grooming, or that a child is at risk of being abused, they must follow the steps in the school’s Child Safety Policy:

The abuse may occur in the school environment or elsewhere. The school environment includes off-site school-related activities such as camps. Your school’s child safety responding and reporting policy and procedure is published on your school’s website.

Ensure you document your incident management actions using the responding to child abuse template. Your relevant governing body will advise you of the next actions consistent with your school’s reporting policy.

The school’s governing body is responsible for making a report to the Social Services Regulator. The Social Services Regulator offers more resources to support compliance with the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

Report – against a principal

Report any allegations, complaints, disclosures or concerns about principals to the relevant governing body. This could be your CEO, Board Chair, Child Safeguarding team or Reportable Conduct team.

The school’s governing body is responsible for making a report to the Social Services Regulator.

The relevant governing body will advise you of the next actions consistent with your school’s reporting policy. A list of school governing bodies can be found here. All allegations, complaints, disclosures and concerns must be reported.

You can find extra resources to support compliance with the Reportable Conduct Scheme at the Social Services Regulator.

Do not stop here

Make sure you complete all 4 Critical Actions.

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:

Victoria Police and the relevant governing body will guide you on how to talk to parents or carers about the allegation, complaint, disclosure or concern. They can also provide you with advice on what information you can share with all impacted students and the wider school community.

Your primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of the student. Before engaging with parents and carers consider whether it is safe to do so. Do not engage with the student or their family if:

If Victoria Police want to interview a student about abuse, schools can follow the guidance at interviews with students at school.

Leave the area where the incident occurred as you found it, until Victoria Police can attend and provide you with further instructions. Victoria Police will tell you what steps you need to take.

Your school must preserve any items that may be of potential forensic value that may later be seized by police. This may include:

Record all steps your school has taken in report. You can use the responding to child abuse template to do this.

See document your actions.

You can still offer support for a student’s wellbeing, even if there is no reportable conduct. See respond to other student wellbeing concerns.

Note: If the adult engaged by the school is also a student’s parent or carer, you may also need to make a report to Child Protection. Refer to respond to abuse in the family.

Next steps

Continue the 4 Critical Actions

After completing these steps to report, you must continue to support and refer.

⬣ Identify ▲ Report ● Support ■ Refer

Consult with Victoria Police or school’s relevant governing body on when to do this.

Education & training

Updated 30 March 2026

At all times

Throughout the 4 Critical Actions, you must:

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