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Report: respond to child abuse in the community

Guidance on how to report child abuse when you believe a crime has been committed. 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 community, you must act.

Follow the steps on this page to report abuse to authorities.

4 CRITICAL ACTIONS

⬣ Identify ▲ Report ● Support ■ Refer

On this page

Report abuse to 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.

Child Protection

If a student has experienced or is at risk of significant harm and their parents or carers have not protected or are unlikely to protect the student from significant harm, call Child Protection and make a report.

Significant harm may relate to:

For example: an allegation of child sexual abuse has been identified from someone in the community and the parents or carers still encourage contact with the person causing the abuse.

During business hours (8:45am to 5pm, 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 DFFH’s website or email.

Provide Child Protection with information that explains your concerns. This will help them decide what action to take.

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

For contact details, see support and advisory services for school staff.

Child Protection can:

Matters that do not require police or child protection involvement

Some matters may not require police and child protection involvement because:

You must still act by:

As part of support and refer you may contact:

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You must report abuse by someone in the community as an incident.

You can report by:

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

See support for further details.

You must report abuse by someone in the community to your relevant governing body consistent with your school’s PROTECT reporting policy and procedures. See a list of school governing bodies.

Your relevant governing body will advise you of the next actions consistent with your school’s reporting policy.

Independent schools should follow the procedures outlined in their school policy.

You can contact Independent Schools Victoria for support and advice on child safety related matters, including if you’re unsure of whether a crime has been committed and need advice on reporting to Victoria Police.

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 or Child Protection will:

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.

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.

If Victoria Police end their involvement, you can still act if you’re worried about a student’s wellbeing.

You can:

Next steps

Continue the 4 Critical Actions

After you report, continue to support the student and follow advice from Child Protection or Victoria Police.

⬣ Identify ▲ Report ● Support ■ Refer

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

Education & training

Updated 10 April 2026

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Throughout the 4 Critical Actions, you must:

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