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

Major amendment to require reports of all cases of sexual abuse, and likely future sexual abuse (commencing 9 July 2012)

Substantial change occurred in 2012. The uniquely restricted position for teachers’ reporting of child sexual abuse was amended in 2012 by the Education and Training Legislation Amendment Act 2011 (Qld) (No 39), which commenced on 9 July 2012. The key changes, in Part 3 of the amending Act, were:

1. 
   To define (non-exhaustively) the concept of ‘sexual abuse’;
   
2. 
   To extend the reporting duty to all suspected cases of sexual abuse, without limiting the class of reportable cases by perpetrator;
   
3. 
   To extend the reporting duty to suspected ‘likely sexual abuse’ (new ss 365A and 366A);
   
4. 
   To create in State schools a more direct chain of reporting (teacher to principal to police officer (3 steps); previously teacher to principal to CE’s nominee to police (4 steps))
   
5. 
   To enable delegation of the reporting function by a non-State school’s governing body director, both where the governing body has only one director (new s 366B(1) and (2)), and where there are more than one director (new s 366B(3) and (4)).
   

It can be expected that these changes influenced an increase in reports by teachers of child sexual abuse.

1.5.4.3. Current position: Queensland