Illustration of a school staff member standing.

Respond to child abuse in the community

How to respond to child abuse using the 4 Critical Actions.

Schools

As soon as you believe a student has been, or is at risk of being, abused by someone in the community, you must act.

The 4 Critical Actions explain how to identify and respond to child abuse.

⬣ Identify ▲ Report ⯀ Support ⬤ Refer

Start at identify before following the rest of the actions.

The steps you take depend on the source of abuse.

If you selected the wrong source, go to determine the source.

Icon showing an alert sign

Report

abuse to authorities

Icon of two hands supporting a person

Support

students through your school

Icon of a paper plane

Refer

students to community services

Education & training

Updated

Illustration of three school staff members standing together.

At all times

Throughout the 4 Critical Actions, you must:

Back to top