Responding to a disclosure

How school staff should receive and respond to a disclosure about child abuse.

Schools

This guidance helps school staff receive and respond to a disclosure about child abuse.

If you are responding to another type of concern:

Government schools should follow the Complaint Resolution Policy.
Catholic and independent schools should follow their local complaints resolution policies.
4 Critical Actions
For early childhood

Responding to a disclosure

It is important that school staff know how to respond if a student or an adult discloses abuse.

A disclosure can be:

made by anyone, including the student who has experienced abuse or someone they know
verbal or non-verbal
intentional or accidental - it is important to treat these disclosures the same way as when you receive a disclosure
complete or partial, including in stages over time
a way for the discloser to process their experiences.

There are many barriers to making a disclosure. The person making the disclosure may:

worry that the disclosure will not be believed
have fears for their safety or someone else’s safety
be concerned they will be blamed or treated negatively because of the disclosure
exhibit self-blame leading to shame or embarrassment
worry about their commitment to a relationship with the person abusing them
be concerned about the impact on the person abusing them
hope that abusive behaviour will change
be experiencing isolation, minimisation or denial as coping strategies
be experiencing a power imbalance between children and adults
not wish to disclose because of their culture, identity, gender, sexuality and disability
be experiencing racism and discrimination
have had previous negative experiences or difficulty navigating the service system.

Conditions that empower, encourage and support students to disclose include:

a school culture that actively promotes child safety and encourages speaking up
safe adults are available and accessible
students are given opportunities to raise and discuss concerns
students are taught to support their peers
students are taught about their rights and the behaviour they can expect from the adults around them
complaints processes that are child focused, culturally safe and accessible to everyone.

Responding in a safe, respectful and supportive manner can:

promote feelings of safety
help the impacted student to manage the effects of the abuse
help the impacted student access appropriate support
influence whether the person makes future disclosures.

When someone discloses abuse – particularly for the first time – the reaction they get can strongly influence whether they seek help in future.

If they feel disbelieved, blamed or judged, they are less likely to seek help again soon.
If they feel supported and believed, they are more likely to disclose again to another professional.

Knowing what to say after a disclosure is an important part of response.

When the source of abuse is an adult engaged by a school

If you receive a disclosure and the source of abuse is an adult engaged by a school, do not notify the student or adult involved. This can compromise the investigation and increase risk to the student.

Follow the advice for your school sector:

Disclosures from a student – what to do

When receiving a disclosure from a student, there are several important things you can do.

Open all

Be calm, accepting and encouraging

Take a breath and think before you speak. Your initial response is vital to supporting the student and maintaining the relationship. Ensure that you:

stay calm and use a neutral tone with no urgency
where possible, use the student’s language and vocabulary (you do not want to frighten or interrupt the student).

Be patient

Be patient and allow the student to talk at their own pace and in their own words without rushing.

This may be a difficult and lengthy process. This is especially important when the student has been groomed to think the abuse is normal or acceptable.

Be supportive

A supportive and non-judgmental response is important to ensure the student knows they are believed. This helps them to feel safe to come back and speak to someone again if the abuse continues.

Listen to, and believe their story

Listen to the student and allow them to speak. Listening is critical. Being heard and believed can be the beginning of a person’s journey to recovery. Be aware of body language and active listening when someone is disclosing.

Monitor your own response

Your role is to provide support based on what the person is telling you. Explain what you will do next.

Keep your own emotions and body language in check by taking a short break if needed. Ensure you regulate your tone and body language while engaging in active listening.

Use language appropriate to the student’s age and stage of development.

Suggested things to say

You did the right thing in sharing this/telling someone is the right thing to do.
It is great that you listened to yourself and knew you had to say something.
You are brave for sharing this, it must have been hard to do.
This is not your fault.
It’s not ok for [person using violence] to do/say that.
I’m worried about you and that means I need to talk to someone about this, so I know how to help you.
I want to make sure you are supported, we need to let someone else here at school know what is going on, can I talk with you again when I have done that?
I need some help to support you and am not going to be able to keep what you have told me between you and me, I will need to tell [who you will tell] to work out what to do to support you (for a younger student).
The information you have given me has made me very concerned for you, and I will need to share this information with [who you will tell] to identify how we may be able to support you. I may also need to talk to people who work in the child safety area, to help keep you safe (for an older student).

What not to do

When receiving a disclosure, it’s important not to:

display expressions of panic or shock
make judgements about what they could or should have done differently
ask leading questions or ‘why?’ questions
pressure the student into telling you more than they want to
make them retell their story many times
ask questions that are investigative and potentially invasive

this may make the student feel uncomfortable and cause them to withdraw.

go over the information repeatedly
make comments that would lead the student to believe that what has happened is their fault
make promises to the student about what will occur next or that things will be different

responding can be unpredictable and different for each student depending on their circumstances
instead, reassure them that you and others will do your best to help. It is important not to say things like:

That is horrible!
I feel uncomfortable.
That person is a terrible person.
I will make sure this never happens to you again. For students with diverse needs, consider what steps you can take to facilitate communication. For example, consider using an interpreter. See supporting students with diverse needs.

After a disclosure

After you have received a disclosure, continue to follow the 4 Critical Actions for the source of abuse.

If the disclosure is not about an adult engaged by a school, it is important to keep students informed of the actions you are taking to respond. Note that you may be instructed by Victoria Police not to share information if the abuse takes place at the school.

Students can feel a great sense of loss of control when their disclosure needs to be shared with others. This can lead to feelings of betrayal, which may cause future mistrust of staff and support services. To decrease the negative impact of sharing information:

ensure students who have disclosed abuse are kept informed
prepare them for each step of the process by clearly explaining what is happening and why
use age-appropriate language.

You may need to request information from other services. See Information Sharing and Family Violence Reforms: Guidance and Tools(opens in a new window).

The person who received the disclosure may also need mental health and wellbeing support. This could be immediate or later on. For more information, see wellbeing support for school staff.

Disclosures from someone who is not the victim

There may be circumstances where a student’s friend, sibling, parent or carer, or someone else they know, discloses or provides information regarding child abuse. For example, a student’s parent or carer may disclose family violence. Note that if a student’s parent or carer is experiencing family violence it is likely that the student may also be experiencing abuse.

When you receive a disclosure or information about child abuse from someone who is not the victim, it is important to use the same strategies outlined on this page.

See disclosures from a student – what to do.

What to do when a student retracts a disclosure

There are some circumstances where a student may retract a previous disclosure. This could be the result of:

receiving pressure from others, including the person committing the abuse
worrying about consequences and changing their mind
the initial disclosure receiving a lack of support.

In these circumstances, you must still act by following the 4 Critical Actions for that source of abuse.

Child Safe Standards - complaints processes guidance

Responding to a disclosure is part of managing a child safety complaint.

Child Safe Standard 7 focuses on ensuring that schools have complaints processes that are child-focused, culturally safe and accessible to everyone.

To comply with this standard, at minimum, schools must ensure they have:

a complaints handling policy
procedures for responding to complaints or concerns relating to child abuse.

See Child Safe Standard 7 - complaints processes.

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Updated 1 April 2026

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Responding to a disclosure

Schools

On this page

Responding to a disclosure

When the source of abuse is an adult engaged by a school

Disclosures from a student – what to do

After a disclosure

Disclosures from someone who is not the victim

What to do when a student retracts a disclosure

Child Safe Standards - complaints processes guidance

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