Reporting Laws and Requirements - VIC
Freedom of Information Act 1982
All information identifying people who have made reports or children the subject of reports is not permitted to be published or discovered.
Don’t underestimate the power of bluff
Sometimes parents or caregivers of the child(ren) named in your report will make assumptions about who reported, and will try and ‘bluff’ you into believing that your identity has been disclosed.
Don’t budge, and don’t fall for this.
You can be confident that at no time is your identity ever disclosed unless under a court order – and then you would certainly be advised in advance.
The content of reports including your identity are not subject to Freedom of Information legislation.
People may threaten to find out who reported them by making Freedom of Information applications – but this simply can’t happen.
Sometimes when we’ve investigated child concern reports, parents who were named in reports would try and bluff people into admitting it was them who reported. They might say, “We know it was you who made the report – the social worker people told us – so why did you do it?” Then when you start to explain why you reported they know it was you. Don’t fall for the bluff. You can be confident that nobody has disclosed your identity.
