Information for parents and carers about the Reportable Conduct Scheme

Information sheet 21

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This information sheet provides general information for parents and carers about the Reportable Conduct Scheme (the Scheme). There are legal obligations in the Scheme that help keep children and young people safe in organisations in Victoria.

For more detailed information about investigations under the Scheme see Information for parents and carers about investigations under the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

There are also information sheets for children and young people about the Scheme. There are resources to help parents and carers talk to children and young people about child sexual abuse from the National Office for Child Safety.

About the Reportable Conduct Scheme

Certain organisations must notify the Social Services Regulator (SSR) about any allegations of child abuse or child related misconduct by their workers or volunteers and investigate these allegations.

The SSR is an independent statutory body focused on the safety and wellbeing of Victorian children and young people.

What is reportable conduct?

Reportable conduct covers certain inappropriate behaviours by adult workers and volunteers towards children aged under 18 years. There are five types of reportable conduct:

  • sexual offences
  • sexual misconduct against, with or in the presence of, a child
  • physical violence
  • behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm
  • significant neglect.

Only reportable conduct is covered by the Scheme. The SSR has published detailed guidance that helps to explain what reportable conduct is:

If a parent or carer is worried about conduct by an adult worker or volunteer, they should raise any child safety concerns with the organisation, regardless of whether the conduct comes within the definition of reportable conduct.

What organisations under the Scheme must do

Organisations must:

  • report to the SSR within three business days of becoming aware of an allegation of reportable conduct
  • properly investigate the allegation
  • keep the SSR updated about the progress of the investigation
  • make findings based on all the evidence
  • take action relevant to the findings
  • tell the SSR about the result of the investigation, the findings made, and what it will do to keep children safe.

Organisations also have to follow other reporting requirements including reporting possible criminal conduct to Victoria Police, reporting to Child Protection where there is alleged harm related to a parent or carer and reporting to other regulators if relevant.

What must be reported?

When the head of an organisation becomes aware of a reportable allegation, they must notify the SSR within three business days and investigate. Allegations about the head of the organisation’s conduct also have to be notified to the SSR.

A reportable allegation has a specific legal meaning. It is where a person makes an allegation, based on a reasonable belief, that a worker or volunteer has committed reportable conduct or misconduct that may involve reportable conduct.

A reasonable belief is more than suspicion or rumour. There must be some objective basis for the belief, although it does not require proof.

It could be that a staff member, parent, carer or a child raises an allegation with the head of the organisation because they hold a reasonable belief that a worker or volunteer has committed reportable conduct. The head of the organisation is required to report the allegation to the SSR.

The head of the organisation does not have to agree with or share the belief that the alleged conduct has occurred.

The SSR encourages parents and carers to raise their concerns directly with the organisation that engages the worker or volunteer whose conduct is of concern.

There can be reasons why a parent or carer may not want to do this, or they might be worried that the SSR has not been notified about an allegation. Parents and carers can raise an allegation directly with the SSR by making a ‘public notification’. For information about how to make a public notification see Report a concern or allegation.

If the behaviour that a parent or carer is worried about does not come under the legal definition of a reportable allegation, it means the allegation does not have to be notified to the SSR and is not covered by the Scheme. However, the organisation should still look into any concerns that have been raised by a parent or carer. Further information about how organisations should respond and have child-focused processes for complaints and concerns can be found in Standard 7 A guide for creating a Child Safe Organisation.

Parents and carers should report any conduct that may be criminal to Victoria Police.

Which organisations must comply with the Scheme?

Certain organisations that provide services and activities to children and young people must comply with the Scheme. For example:

  • disability service providers
  • hospitals
  • kindergartens, long day care, after hours care services
  • overnight camps
  • out of home care, residential services, foster and kinship carers
  • religious organisations
  • residential care services
  • schools
  • youth justice services.

Allegations can be raised under the Scheme about the conduct of the following people employed or engaged by an organisation:

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

For a full list of the types of organisations that need to comply with the Scheme, and the kinds of workers and volunteers that are covered, see Who does the Scheme apply to? You can also check by contacting the SSR.

Even if an organisation, worker or volunteer is not covered by the Scheme, parents and carers should still raise any child safety concerns they have with the organisation.

What happens after an allegation is made?

As well as notifying the SSR, the head of an organisation must:

  • take any action needed to keep children safe while the allegations are looked into
  • thoroughly and fairly investigate allegations covered by the Scheme
  • tell the SSR about the result of the investigation, the findings made, and what it will do next and why.

When an allegation involves possible criminal conduct, the organisation and the SSR must report it to Victoria Police.

A police investigation takes priority over a reportable conduct investigation. The organisation must wait for police permission to start their investigation.

What if my child is involved in an investigation?

Children and young people have a right to be safe and feel safe wherever they are. Child abuse is never their fault. It is important that allegations about child abuse or child related misconduct are looked into so that all children and young people can be kept safe.

The SSR recommends parents and carers read the following guidance if their child is involved in a reportable conduct investigation:

Sharing information about an investigation

The organisation should provide the alleged victim, their parents or carers with information about the reportable conduct investigation and the findings made.

The organisation also needs to inform the worker or volunteer about the allegations made, give them a chance to respond and tell them the findings at the end of an investigation.

To support children’s safety and comply with legal reporting requirements, the organisation and the SSR may need to notify other organisations or authorities about allegations and findings. This could be Victoria Police, Child Protection, Working with Children Check Victoria or other regulators like the Victorian Institute of Teaching.

What else can be done about child safety concerns?

There are other laws about child safety that could be relevant to your concerns.

All organisations that are covered by the Scheme must also comply with the Child Safe Standards. There are also many organisations who must comply with the Child Safe Standards, even if they do not have to comply with the Scheme.

The Child Safe Standards require organisations to take steps to keep children safe by having policies and systems in place so that the organisation prevents, responds to and reports allegations of child abuse and harm. Organisations must comply with all aspects of the Child Safe Standards and there can be legal consequences for non-compliance.

If you have child safety concerns, it is important to raise these with the organisation. Even if they are not covered by the Scheme, the organisation should listen to you and look into your concerns.

For information on how to raise a concern about an organisation under the Child Safe Standards, see Raising concerns about child safety or contact the SSR.

For further information about the Child Safe Standards, see:

Other bodies also regulate the Child Safe Standards alongside the SSR. You can find out more about the regulators and the sectors they regulate on the SSR’s website.

You also may be able to raise your concerns with oversight bodies or other regulators including:

The role of the SSR

The SSR is an independent statutory authority that safeguards the rights of children and young people as well as people who use social services in Victoria.

One of the ways we do this is by operating the Scheme, where we:

  • oversee and monitor how organisations respond to allegations of child abuse and child related misconduct
  • provide advice and guidance to organisations
  • make recommendations to help organisations improve.

Sharing information about child safety issues helps keep children safe. Some of the ways we do this are by:

  • sharing all allegations and findings from the Scheme with the Working with Children (WWC) Check who can decide if a worker or volunteer is suitable to have WWC clearance
  • notifying the Victorian Institute of Teaching, if the worker or volunteer is a registered teacher.

The SSR has regulatory responsibility for tens of thousands of organisations across Victoria. We believe that the safety of children in these organisations is maximised when everyone plays their part. We conduct our work in a way that focuses on improving the capability of all organisations, empowering the public to hold them to account, referring to other regulators where relevant and having a more active oversight role when needed most.

We provide information to assist parents and carers to engage directly with organisations about their child safety concerns under the Scheme. Parents and carers are also welcome to contact SSR directly.

Where to get help

For further information about the Reportable Conduct Scheme, to talk through issues of concern, or to make a notification, contact SSR by phone on 1300 310 778 or via email at contact@ssr.vic.gov.au.

For all WWC Check queries contact 1300 652 879.

If you need an interpreter, please call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 13 14 50 and ask them to contact the Social Services Regulator on 1300 310 778.

If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, contact us through the National Relay Service. For more information, visit: https://www.accesshub.gov.au/about-the-nrs.

Support services

Lifeline: 13 11 14

1800 Respect on 1800 737 732

Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380 (9am-5pm AEST Monday-Sunday)

Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.

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