Responsibilities of a mandated notifier

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The responsibilities of the mandated notifier include the following:

• Mandated professionals are only required to make a notification to Child Protection when they form a belief that a child is in need of protection from physical or sexual abuse in the course of practicing their profession. In other words, if you are a mandated notifier you will not be legally obliged to report if you encounter abuse in your private life, or when working in a capacity that is not directly related to the professional affiliation under which you are mandated. However, in such situations you have a moral or ethical obligation to report your concerns if you have reasonable grounds to believe that a child is at risk of harm.
• You must make a report without delay.
• You are required to make a report each time you become aware of any further grounds for your belief.
• You do not have to prove that the abuse has occurred.
• It is your principal responsibility to report your belief. It is not the responsibility of your supervisor, principal, senior or boss. If you are one of a group of mandated notifiers who share the belief, based on reasonable grounds, that a child or young person is in need of protection from physical or sexual abuse, then only one mandated notifier needs to make the report. However, you must be satisfied that the report was made promptly and that all of the reasonable grounds were included in the notification.
• In instances where a mandated professional (supervisor, principal, boss) directs another mandated professional not to make a report, and that professional continues to hold the belief that child is in need of protection, then that person is legally required to make a report to Child Protection.
• Mandatory reporting requirements take precedence over professional codes of practice where confidentiality or client privilege is claimed.

Important points

Other points to remember are:

• You do not have to prove that abuse has taken place. You only need reasonable grounds for your belief.
• You do not need permission from parents or caregivers to make a notification; nor do they need to be informed that a notification is being made.
• If you make a notification in good faith, you cannot be held legally liable, regardless of the outcome of the notification.

Confidentiality

Your identity as a notifier will remain confidential under the Children and Young Persons Act, unless:

• you choose to inform the child and/or family of the notification yourself
• you consent in writing to your identity as the notifier being disclosed
• the court decides it needs this information in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the child
• the court decides in the interests of justice, it requires that the evidence be given.

It is not general practice for the Children's Court to seek information regarding the identity of the notifier.

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Disclaimer Copyright Updated: 9 Jun 2009