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Support: respond to abuse by an adult engaged by a Catholic school

Guidance on how to support students through your school. Support 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 is reportable conduct under Victoria’s Reportable Conduct Scheme.

4 CRITICAL ACTIONS

⬣ Identify ▲ Report ● Support ■ Refer

On this page

Support students through your school

Your school must provide support for all impacted students. This includes students who experienced abuse (including grooming) and others who may be affected. This can mean siblings or friends who know about the abuse or were impacted in other ways. This is an essential part of your duty of care obligations.

Child abuse can cause trauma. It can also significantly impact a child’s health, safety and wellbeing and disrupt their education. You play a central role in:

Support complements refer. Both actions happen at the same time if you decide that’s the best way to help the student.

Ensure the right staff carry out these actions for all impacted students. Your school’s wellbeing team may lead this work. In some cases, external specialist supports may be more appropriate. If wellbeing staff have worked closely with the alleged offender, it might not be appropriate for them to support the student.

When your school makes a report, your governing body will advise you of the next actions.

This could include engaging:

Matters involving sexual offences

If an adult is engaged by a school, the governing body will work with the school and health and wellbeing staff. They will ensure impacted students and their families get the right support.

This may include creating a student safety and wellbeing plan. This plan helps the student attend school safely. It also considers any triggers and health and wellbeing needs.

Other matters

For matters that do not involve sexual offences, your school can support students in a range of ways.

Open all

Identify which resources are likely to be the most suitable. This will depend on the type of abuse that occurred and the support that the students need.

To ensure the ongoing safety of all impacted students, you can:

Programs and tools

Sometimes, there will be no students at your school who are directly affected. For example, if a staff member is charged with sexually abusing a child that has never attended your school.

In these cases, the relevant governing body will still assist you. They will:

Work with school staff with information sharing responsibilities. They can share and request information with other Information Sharing Entities (ISEs) under the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS) where needed. What you learn from other ISEs can help you decide how to support the students.

For example, you may request information about a student from:

If you do not know which services a child is linked with, ask staff who have access to Child Link. They can:

To share information safely and appropriately, follow the guidance for staff who use CISS and FVISS.

It is important to talk to the student about the support they want. This can help them feel empowered and more likely to take part in the process in a positive way.

You can:

It is also important to talk to the student’s parents or carers. Parental support and encouragement can help the student through the process.

When supporting a student, pay attention to their individual circumstances. Some children or young people may experience increased vulnerability.

Consider all the experiences and needs of the student and their parents or carers. Follow the guidance at supporting students with diverse needs.

This includes supporting:

Continue support for as long as necessary

Your school should continue to:

Work with the student, their parents or carers, and any relevant authorities and specialist support services.

Next steps

Continue the 4 Critical Actions

When providing support, also refer students to community services.

⬣ Identify ▲ Report ● Support ■ Refer

Check with your school’s governing body on when to take these steps.

Education & training

Updated 30 March 2026

At all times

Throughout the 4 Critical Actions, you must:

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