Four Critical Actions to respond to child abuse in early childhood services

This may include seeing a concerning interaction or harmful incident, or inappropriate or boundary crossing behaviour. Grooming can be difficult to identify. It can look like ‘normal’ caring behaviour, such as providing special attention and emotional support to a child.

Some examples of grooming behaviours include:

• regularly trying to spend one-on-one time with a specific child
• offering to help outside normal duties or hours (like babysitting or transporting children home)
• showing too much or unnecessary physical affection towards a child (such as encouraging hugging, tickling, or cuddling when it isn’t needed)

A disclosure is when someone shares information that suggests a child may be unsafe or has been abused. This can come from the child, or from someone who knows them.

Disclosures may be verbal or non-verbal; intentional or accidental; complete or partial and be disclosed in stages over time. Disclosures are not always clear and may change over time.

Any disclosures or concerns should be taken seriously. For more information on how best to respond to disclosures, see strategies for managing a disclosure.

These could include:

• injuries or signs of abuse that don’t have a clear explanation or don’t match the story given
• sudden changes in behaviour (like becoming withdrawn, aggressive, or overly obedient)
• becoming scared or avoiding certain adults

Often, changes in a child’s body or behaviour are the only signs that they are experiencing abuse. Detailed information on more physical and behavioural signs of abuse can be found here.

This may include distressing, sexualised or threatening content. This could also include concerning messages, images, or interactions, including signs of grooming, exploitation, or harmful contact.

Online spaces are a common way abuse can begin or continue.

If you believe a crime by an adult against a child has been committed, you must make a report to Victoria Police. Emergency situations that require urgent police attendance must be reported to Victoria Police via 000.

Common crimes against children include physical and sexual assault or abuse, grooming, and threatening behaviour.

At any time, you can call Victoria Police on 131 444 (non-emergency situations only) or contact your local police station.

Approved Providers: You must notify VECRA:

• Within 24 hours of a serious incident at an approved education or care service or a complaint alleging that a serious incident has occurred or is occurring while a child was or is being educated and cared for by an approved education and care service, or
• Within 24 hours of becoming aware of reportable sexual misconduct, including sexual misconduct or a sexual offence, committed against, with or in the presence of a child by a person employed or engaged to perform work or provide services at an education and care service or a volunteer, whether or not it occurred at an education and care service.*

*This requirement is in effect from 12 August 2026.

All NQF services must notify via the NQA ITS system. Occasional care and limited hours services should refer to VECRA’s ‘Notify Us’ webpage for more information on how to notify.

You can fill in in the secure webform or contact your local VECRA office via email (vecra@education.vic.gov.au) or the enquiries line: 1300 307 415. If you are unsure whether to notify VECRA, seek advice from your service provider or contact VECRA directly.

If your manager or approved provider does not notify VECRA about the concern, you (as a staff member) are also able make a complaint to VECRA by completing the secure webform, contacting your local VECRA office, or calling the enquiries line.

You can stay anonymous – but sharing your name and contact information can help VECRA to follow up.

Approved providers: You must report all reportable allegations (including abuse) to the Social Services Regulator (SSR) as required under the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

• Reportable allegations include the following allegations involving an adult working for or engaged by a service, no matter where it has happened (at the service, at home, or in the community):
  • Physical violence, sexual offences or sexual misconduct against, with, or in the presence of a child; behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm; and significant neglect.
  • Some examples of reportable conduct include hitting or physically hurting a child, sexually touching a child or trying to groom them for abuse; seriously bullying or threatening a child so they feel very unsafe or very upset; and not giving a child basic care like proper supervision or medical treatment.
• The approved provider must notify SSR within three business days of becoming aware of the reportable allegation, as well as police if it may be criminal
• The approved provider then needs to investigate and make a finding about whether reportable conduct has been committed. The investigation cannot start until Police give clearance for allegations that may be criminal. The approved provider must then give SSR more detailed information about the allegation as soon as practicable and within 30 calendar days.
• It is a criminal offence if the approved provider does not comply with the three day and 30-day reporting requirements without a valid reason. This process does not replace the need to report any allegations of child abuse, criminal conduct, or family violence to Victoria Police.
• If your manager or approved provider does not notify SSR about the concern you (as a staff member) are also able to make a complaint to SSR by completing the secure webform or contacting SSR. You can stay anonymous – but sharing your name and contact information can help SSR to follow up.
• You can fill in the secure webform or contact SSR directly for support and further information.
  • Call: 1300 310 778
  • Website: https://www.vic.gov.au/social-services-regulator
  • Email: contact@ssr.vic.gov.au

Before engaging with parents and carers, you need permission from Victoria Police (in situations involving a police response). Be sure to also check with VECRA about what information you can share.

Once you have permission, you must tell the child’s parents or carers. This is an important step. It helps parents or carers support their child in partnership with the service, authorities, and other support services. You must contact parents or carers as soon as possible – ideally, on the same day.

In most cases, this will involve referring the child (and possibly their family) to community organisations and specialist support services. The following section, Refer, outlines these options in more detail.

Services should try to stay in touch with the child’s parent/carer to plan support and talk about how the child is going and whether the support is helping.

Educators (with support from service leadership) should determine the most appropriate strategies to use to support the child or children involved. This may be through discussion, reading books about body safety and role playing with puppets and/or dolls.

For some younger children, this could involve age-appropriate conversations about safety and wellbeing to understand what helps them feel safe and happy at their service, at home, and in their community.

• First Nations children
• Children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• Children with disability
• Children in out-of-home care
• LGBTIQA+ or gender-diverse children and their families

Work with other staff (such as your manager) who have information sharing responsibilities.

They can share and request information with other Information Sharing Entities (ISEs) under the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS), keeping children safe and well by helping you to decide what to do next and what support to provide.

For more support see: Information Sharing and Family Violence Reforms: Guidance and Tools.

Child Link is a digital tool that shows limited but important information about a child to authorised professionals who are responsible for child wellbeing and safety.

Child Link supports CISS to improve wellbeing and safety outcomes for children.

Child Link and CISS can help you to make decisions about the wellbeing, safety and support needs of a child in your service. This makes it easier to identify risks early and provide the right support.

Ask your manager which staff at your service have access to Child Link.

They can check information regarding the child’s participation in key early childhood and education services; key family relationships; and if the child or their sibling has a past or current child protection order.

Maternal and Child Health Service (MCH), is a free, local primary health service for families with children from birth to school age.

MCH works in partnership with families to support health and wellbeing. MCH can also help families to connect with other local community services.

Families can also call the MCH Line 24/7 for advice and support on 13 22 29.

Before you engage with children and their parents or carers, highlight which services are likely to be the most suitable.

This will depend on:

• the type of abuse the child experienced
• the support that the child needs
• any history that the child has with community services.

Ideally a family will self-refer to community organisations and specialist support services. However, your service can refer a child or their family to a service. You could do this by making a phone call to the service, with, or on behalf of, the family.

Sometimes it may help to refer a child or their family to a local specialist support service, especially if they already know and trust the service. In Victoria, there are many services that support young children.

These include services that help children recover from trauma, support families, and provide early help for children who may be at risk of abuse, neglect, or family violence.

There are specialist services that can also assist with:

• safety and wellbeing concerns
• mental and physical health concerns
• housing and accommodation
• legal advice
• financial help
• problem behaviours.

A list of specialist support services for children is available in the PROTECT web guidance on the Services, helplines and websites page.

This page shows some services, but it does not list all of them. There are many other services across Victoria that can support children and their families.

Decisions about the needs of First Nations People should be made by First Nations People.

If someone identifies as First Nations, they can choose to be supported by a worker from an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO). See a list of ACCOs.

Matters involving sexual offences are serious. Report any concerns about sexual abuse before seeking advice or referring to a local sexual assault service.

For matters involving sexual offences, services can refer directly to local sexual assault services, instead of through The Orange Door.

You can contact local sexual assault services, including local Centres Against Sexual Assault (CASAs) and harmful sexual behaviour services for information and support.

If your service helps to refer a child to a specialist support service, that service may inform you of the outcome of the referral.

If you are not part of the referral, you may still learn the outcome through an information sharing request.

The service may tell you what services the child and their family have been connected to, or if the family declined support.

If the specialist service was unsuccessful in contacting the family, they may ask for your help.