Reporting Laws and Requirements - VIC
A referral to Child FIRST/The Orange Door should be considered if the concerns currently have a low to moderate impact on the child, where the immediate safety of the child is not compromised.
Refer to Child FIRST/The Orange Door where families exhibit any of the following factors that may impact upon a child’s safety, stability or development:
- significant parenting problems that may be affecting the child’s development
- family conflict, including family breakdown
- families under pressure due to a family member’s physical or mental illness, substance abuse, disability or bereavement
- young, isolated and/or unsupported families
- significant social or economic disadvantage that may adversely impact on a child’s care or development
A report to Department Of Families, Fairness and Housing Child Protection should be made if the concerns currently have a serious impact on the child’s immediate safety, stability or development, or the concerns are persistent and entrenched and likely to have a serious impact on the child’s development. These concerns include:
- Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect.
- Persistent family violence or parental substance misuse, psychiatric illness or intellectual disability – where there is a likelihood of significant harm to the child or the child’s stability and development.
- Where a child’s actions or behaviour may place them at risk of significant harm and the parents are unwilling or unable to protect the child.
- Where a child appears to have been abandoned.
If you’re a mandatory reporter and you have formed a belief on reasonable grounds about sexual or physical abuse – then you only have one choice for reporting - you should ensure your report is made to the Secretary which means reporting to the Child Protection service of the Department Of Families, Fairness and Housing. If it’s urgent and you report to Police – you should still follow up with a formal report to Child Protection to ensure all the information was passed along.
Don’t panic about making the wrong choice though – because there is a system in place to ensure that if you make the report to the wrong intake service, they will still ensure it is referred correctly.
So for example if you report to Child FIRST/ The Orange Door they may still assess the information and decide that a protective intervention report is necessary and they will send this to Child Protection. Similarly, matters reported to the Child Protection service of the Department Of Families, Fairness and Housing that don’t meet the threshold of protective intervention reports may be referred to Child FIRST/ The Orange Door.
Read through the list of guidelines in the note section and then remember the simple rule at the bottom.
Simple Rule:
If you have formed a belief that the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering significant harm AND you have doubts about the parent’s ability to protect the child then report to Department Of Families, Fairness and Housing Child Protection.
Remember that these guidelines are just that – not all cases fit in the box – and if you’re at all concerned about who to report to, you should contact either the Child Protection service of the Department Of Families, Fairness and Housing or Child FIRST/The Orange Door and talk through your decision with one of the experienced intake officers available.
