The department has developed 'Protecting Children' e-learning modules to assist staff in both government and non-government schools to understand their mandatory reporting and other legal obligations. The modules align with information on PROTECT, which outlines how to identify and respond to child abuse.
Government school staff
Obligations
In line with the policy Protecting Children – Reporting and Other Legal Obligations, staff who are:
- School-based staff:
- mandatory reporters must complete the module once per calendar year
- not mandatory reporters are strongly encouraged to complete the module once per calendar year.
- Department-based staff:
- mandatory reporters must undertake the training once per calendar year
- who have roles that engage with students or provide advice to schools about mandatory reporting or child safety are strongly encouraged to undertake the training once per calendar year.
Accessing 'Protecting Children' e-learn module
The Protecting children: Reporting and other legal obligations (PROTECT), module is available on LearnED, which is accessed through eduPay.
Government school staff who are mandatory reporters are automatically enrolled into this course.
Alternatively, all staff can login to eduPay and search for 'Protecting Children' and self-enrol.
Staff can generate their certificate of completion in eduPay by selecting: 'My Learning > History > Select Course > Print'. This certificate will remain part of your learning record on EduPay.
Non-government school staff
Obligations
Mandated reporters in non-government schools are strongly encouraged to complete mandatory reporting training once per calendar year. Other staff are also encouraged to undertake the module annually.
Accessing 'Protecting Children' e-learn module
The Protecting Children – Mandatory Reporting and Other Obligations Non-Government Schools eLearn training can be accessed at: protectngstraining.education.vic.gov.au
Information about how to create an account can be found at Protecting children: Mandatory reporting and other obligations.
Non-government schools should keep local records to track staff completion of the eLearning module. A copy of the certificate of completion should be submitted to the relevant school co-ordinator and retained by the staff member.
Instructions for creating an online training account are available for non-government school staff and early childhood professionals.
The Department of Education has reactivated access to Canvas learning platforms following a global cyber incident in May 2026 that impacted Instructure, a third-party supplier, and its Canvas system.
Users will be prompted to reset their password. All users should be alert to phishing scams and only access Canvas via the official app or a direct URL. Users accessing Canvas with their personal email address are strongly encouraged to activate multi-factor authentication (MFA) on their personal email accounts. MFA reduces the likelihood of someone gaining unauthorised access to your account using information harvested through criminal activities.
If you have any privacy or security concerns, you can find useful information on the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner website(opens in a new window).
For privacy complaints please contact privacy@instructure.com(opens in a new window)
Training module guidance
Updated