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

New duty for teachers to report sexual abuse by school staff (commencing 19 April 2004)

From 19 April 2004, teachers were required to report reasonable suspicions of specific circumstances of suspected sexual abuse only. The provisions were introduced into the Education (General Provisions) Act 1989 (Qld) ss 146A-146B (applying to State and non-State schools respectively) by the Education and Other Legislation (Student Protection) Amendment Act 2003 (Qld) (No 88 of 2003).³⁰

However, even this restricted duty was limited, as the legislation restricted the duty to cases of suspected sexual abuse perpetrated by a school staff member.³¹ The duty was also limited to suspected past and presently occurring abuse; it did not apply to suspected future cases. The provisions imposed an obligation on a staff member of a school who ‘becomes aware, or reasonably suspects, that a student under 18 years of age attending the school has been sexually abused by someone else who is an employee of the school’ to immediately give a written report about the abuse or suspected abuse to the school’s principal or the principal’s supervisor. It was made an offence not to give such a report (s 146A(2); s 146B(2): maximum penalty of 20 penalty units ($1500)). Reporters were granted immunity from civil and criminal liability connected with making the report (s 146A(6) and (7); s 146B(5) and (6)). Confidentiality was not expressly conferred, and was arguably not conferred by the Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld) s 186 (see Part 1.5.4.3).

Despite the unique limitations of the duty, it is likely that this development would result in a significant increase in reports by teachers of sexual abuse from April 2004. Technically, reports under EGPA were meant to be made to police rather than the Department. However, it is possible that some of these reports were made to both police and the Department. In addition, it is unlikely that teachers would restrict their reports of sexual abuse to those cases where the suspected perpetrator was a school staff member.³² It seems reasonable to hypothesise that the new duty, albeit limited, would have produced an increase in reports by teachers to the Department about other cases of suspected sexual abuse; that is, suspected cases beyond those specified in EGPA.