Reporting past harm or abuse as an adult

The Scheme applies to the behaviour of every worker and volunteer 18 years of age or older in organisations operating in Victoria included in the Scheme, even if their work does not relate to children. Allegations can also be made about a worker or volunteer’s behaviour outside the organisation, such as in their personal life.

Allegations can be raised about the conduct of the following people employed or engaged by an organisation that is in scope for the Reportable Conduct Scheme:

• employees
• volunteers
• contractors
• office holders
• ministers of religion
• officers of a religious body
• foster and kinship carers in a formal care arrangement.

As of 1 July 2024, allegations can also be raised about the conduct of the following people:

• workers or volunteers provided by labour hire agencies, companies or other providers
• secondees
• individual business owners who employ or engage staff
• directors of companies where the director performs work for the organisation.

Yes, if certain criteria are met. In some circumstances an allegation fits under the Scheme and therefore must be investigated, even if it happened before the Scheme started. For the purposes of the Scheme, we often call these ‘historical allegations’.

This is a complex part of the Scheme. Whether an allegation is covered can depend on several factors, including whether the person who harmed you is still a worker or volunteer for any organisation covered by the Scheme.

It can be harder to investigate allegations from a long time ago, but if the Scheme applies an organisation is still required to do its best with oversight by the SSR.

An organisation does not have to investigate or report allegations about a person who is deceased. However, you can still choose to notify the organisation of your allegation so that they are aware of what happened.

As the Scheme places responsibility on the organisation to investigate an allegation, this cannot occur if the organisation does not exist anymore. However, if the person works for another organisation covered by the Scheme, that organisation may be required to do the investigation.

If the person no longer works at the organisation where you were harmed, but now works or volunteers for another organisation that is covered by the Scheme, then you may still be able to report an allegation.

If you are unhappy about how an organisation dealt with your allegation before the Scheme started, and the person is still a worker or volunteer at an organisation covered by the Scheme, then you may be able to report the allegation again.

The organisation may need to notify the SSR and conduct an investigation even if:

• they knew about the abuse, and previously investigated it, before the Scheme started, or
• they did not know about the abuse because it occurred at a different organisation.

Yes, if you do it in good faith. The law protects any person from liability who gives information or documents to the SSR in good faith for the purposes of the Scheme. This includes a person who has signed a settlement agreement with a third party settling a civil claim (in their personal capacity or on behalf of a child) which contains confidentiality or non-disparagement clauses – even if it was approved by a court.

This means it is likely that you can still make a notification to the SSR about a reportable allegation and participate in a Reportable Conduct Scheme investigation.

If you signed a settlement agreement, we encourage you to contact the SSR to discuss your specific circumstances.

• If you report the allegation to the organisation, the head of the organisation has three business days to notify the SSR of the allegation. The SSR will oversee the management of the organisation’s response, including any investigation, and make sure it complies with all its obligations to investigate and act on safety issues.
• If you report to the SSR, we will let you know your report has been received. We will work with you to determine whether it is covered by the Scheme. If it is, we will notify the relevant organisation about your allegation and ask the organisation to take appropriate action, and we will monitor the management of your allegation.
• If you report to police, they will let you know what steps will be taken to investigate your allegation. A report to police does not mean that other investigations (for example, by the organisation) cannot happen, but the police investigation will be given priority.
• The organisation and/or investigator may contact you to get further information about what happened to you. They will need to do that in a way that is safe, sensitive and supports your needs. You can decide how you want to be involved.

Within 30 days, the head of the organisation must provide the SSR with an update. This might include:

• more detailed information about your allegation
• the progress of the investigation.

At the conclusion of the investigation, the head of organisation must provide the investigation findings to the SSR, as well as information about steps taken in response.

Under the Scheme, important information about risks to children is shared between organisations, where required. This helps to prevent perpetrators of abuse moving between organisations undetected. All allegations and findings under the Reportable Conduct Scheme are shared with the Working with Children Check. This SSR may also share information about investigations with Victoria Police, Child Protection and other regulators.