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

Addition of midwives as a new mandated reporter group (commencing 1 July 2010)

Several statutes have made insubstantial amendments to incorporate changes to professional regulatory mechanisms and definitions.⁴⁹ However, the Statute Law Amendment (National Health Practitioner Regulation) Act 2010 (No. 13 of 2010), in amending the definition of ‘nurse’ to add midwives, clearly adds midwives to the list of mandated reporter groups. This Act made several insubstantial amendments to definitions.⁵⁰ The more significant amendment was in Schedule item 12, which inserted a definition of ‘midwife’⁵¹ and added midwives to s 182 as a mandated reporter group as a subset of nurses.

12.4 For section 182(1)(b) substitute—

"(b) a nurse;

(ba) a midwife;”

This may be expected to produce a small increase in reports by this group of professionals, perhaps especially about risk of physical injury.