Child Abuse and Neglect: a socio-legal Study of Mandatory Reporting in Australia

Midwives added as a reporter group (commencing 18 November 2006)

This occurred when the Health Legislation Amendment Act 2006 (No 2) Sch 2 Pt 2.2 commenced on 18 November 2006, which renumbered subsections in s 159(1) and added midwives as a reporter group:

(c) a nurse; or

(ca) an enrolled nurse; or
(cb) a midwife

This may be expected to have produced an increase in reports by this group, but probably only very moderate due to the restricted scope of the reporting duty.

New exception in 159(3) (commencing 1 August 2006)

Section 159(3) provided an exception for not reporting and was inserted by Children and Young People Amendment Act 2006 (Act 6) s 16, which commenced on 1 August 2006. The exception applied if a reporter had a reasonable belief that someone else has made a report about the same child or young person in relation to the same abuse or neglect¹⁵ and the other person reported the same reasons for their belief as the person has for their belief.

If anything, this may be expected to have produced a slight decline in the number of multiple reports about the same child.