Legislation and Regulations

Child protection laws vary across Australia. Educators need to know which laws apply to their jurisdiction. This article provides information on the primary acts of legislation and relevant acts in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and New South Wales (NSW). It also covers the types of abuse that mandated reporters must report, the government departments responsible for child protection, and the regulations related to child protection in education and care services.

Legislation and Regulations
1 Child protection laws vary from state to state and territory
(jurisdictions) across Australia. It is essential for educators to
have knowledge of which of these laws applies to the
jurisdiction/s in which they work.
Name the primary acts of legislation for both:
NSW
ACT
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
Principal Act:
 Children and Young People Act 2008
(ACT).
Other Relevant Act / Legislation:
 Adoption Act 1993 (ACT)

 Children and Young People Act (ACT
Childcare Services) Standards 2009 (No. 1)

 Children and Young People (Employment)
Standards 2011 (No. 1)

 Crimes (Child Sex Offenders) Act 2005
(ACT)

 Family Violence Act 2016 (ACT)

 Ombudsman Act 1989 (ACT)

 Working with Vulnerable People
(Background Checking) Act 2011 (ACT)
New South Wales (NSW)
Principal Act:
Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection)
Act 1998 (NSW).
Other Relevant Act / Legislation:
 Adoption Act 2000 (NSW)

 Advocate for Children and Young People
Act 2014 (NSW)

 Child Protection (International Measures)
Act 2006 (NSW)

 Child Protection (Offenders Prohibition
Orders) Act 2004 (NSW)

 Child Protection (Offenders Registration)
Act 2000 (NSW)

 Child Protection (Working with Children)
Act 2012 (NSW)

 Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence)

Act 2007 (NSW)

 Industrial Relations (Child Employment)
Act 2006 (NSW)

 Ombudsman Act 1974 (NSW)

 Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW).
2 There are two types of report you can make if you are
concerned about the welfare of a child/young person; a
mandatory report and a voluntary report.
List the types of abuse a mandated reporter must report in
the ACT, and NSW.
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
 Sexual Abuse.
 Mental torture.
 Physical Abuse.
New South Wales (NSW)
 Gender Discrimination.
 Traumatic Harassment.
 Ill treatment and physical and mental abuse.
3 Each jurisdiction has its own government department
(Authority) that manages child protection. What is the name of
the Authority a mandated reporter is to report to in the ACT,
and NSW?
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
Child and Youth protection Services
Phone: [phone]
Email: mailto:[e-mail]
New South Wales (NSW)
Department of family and Community Services.
Phone: 13 21 11 (24 hours).
Online e-reporting site:
reporter.childstory.nsw.gov.au/s/
4 The Education and Care Services National Regulations provide
the guiding regulations for all Education and Care Services.
Name the main regulation specifically addressing child
protection and summarise the responsibilities set out in this
regulation (approximately 50-100 words).
To access the regulations go to
https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/regulation/2011/65
3
The Regulation act is a part of the Interpretation Act
1987. The national regulations has set few ranges of
operational requirements for the development and
the growth of education and care services in
Australia. The act also sets out the preparation and
the review of the QIP. Also there are certain factors
that ensure the different rating levels that are given
to certain services. Therefore the process is for
completing assessments and for the determination of
a rating and then processing it under the review of
the rating.
Currency of the version:

The Act is a current version of 1 July 2018 to the
present date.
Provisions in Force:
The Act has to go through several amendments and
various steps after being stated as an Act.
5 Explain what your “duty of care” is as an early childhood
educator/ education support worker (approximately 50-100
words)
The parents of a child puts faith in the abilities of a
Childcare Worker, to care for their children, three
gore there remains a lot of dependency and also
expectations from the end of the parents. The
childcare worker needs to follow and abide by
certain factors like providing safety to the child and
his/her family, Compatible with any type of
condition of the child, must not be prone to abuse.
The duty of care of the child care workers must be
that they will care for the children at home or the
childcare centre and ensure the child’s safety, and
make them enjoy the time with them, and also make
sure that they will learn and develop in a safe
environment when their parents are not around.
6 The National Quality Standards also set out responsibilities of
educators and staff to ensure children’s health and safety.
What is the main Quality Area and standard related to
keeping children safe and what does it state in the elements as
the obligations of educators? (3 elements)
Quality Area: The main quality area which is under
the National Quality Standard is established mainly
to safeguard and promote children’s health and
safety, minimise risks and to protect children from
harm, injury and infection.
Standard: National quality Standard
Elements:
- Wellbeing and comfort.
- Health practices and procedures.
- Incident and emergency management.
Rights of the child
7 List three (3) rights from the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child, that relate to child protection which
should be incorporated in organisational standards, policies
and procedures
(Include the Article Number and summary)
Article 2
States parties respects and ensure the rights that are
set in thee present Convention to each child within
their jurisdiction and without the discrimination of
any kind.
Article 3
The child should have the right to express their
feeling and also perform acts that may be pleasing to
them. This encouraged in this article.
Article 4
The States parties undertake the appropriate
legislative and administrative and other measures for
the implementation of the rights for the convention.
Indicators and Impacts of abuse and neglect
8 Provide 5 examples of the impacts of abuse and neglect. (You
may include a selection of short and long-term impacts)
- Physical injuries.
- Psychological Trauma

- Fear of the Unknown.
- Disruption of the Self Confidence.
- Increasing of self-doubt.
Identifying and responding to suspected risk
Read the following scenario about “Stephanie” and respond to the questions below.
Stephanie is 4 years old and attends your early learning service. She has been attending fulltime for eight weeks and
you have noticed that she has not formed any significant relationships with other children and tends to play on her
own.
Stephanie often presents to the service wearing dirty clothes and her hair unbrushed and matted. When her mother
comes into the room to collect her, Stephanie shows no joy at seeing her and goes with her in a subdued manner.
Stephanie’s mother often wears long sleeved clothing even in very hot weather. Stephanie’s mother shows little
affection or emotion towards Stephanie and has been seen to push Stephanie away when Stephanie has tried to show
her what she has created during the day. Stephanie’s mother appears tired and disinterested and avoids talking with
educators or the director.
Today you noticed that Stephanie has what appears to be a bluish bruise on both sides of her neck.
(Scenario adapted from TAFE WA/ TAFE SA, 2009, pg 51)
9 Identify the type/s of abuse you suspect and list the indicators The abuses might be physical and mental. Therefore
the bruises that might have appeared on both the
sides of Stephanie’s neck. Also the dirty clothes and
unbrushed hair indicates that her mother has not
been taking good care of her and that she has been
torturing her.
10 On seeing the bruises, you want to gain more information
about how she got them.
How would you ask Stephanie about the marks on her arm?
Write an example of the question you may ask Stephanie (one
or two lines).
The childcare worker or the teacher who may have
noticed the bruises would talk to Stephanie if
something was wrong with her and whether
everything was alright with her at home. The teacher
may ask her about the bruises by learning the actual
situation of Stephanie and her current status.
The question may be like this- “Good Morning
Stephanie, how are you doing today? Is everything
alright at home? Did someone hurt you Stephanie?”
Responding to disclosures:
Read the following segment of Stephanie’s story and respond to the questions below.
Stephanie continued:
When you ask her about it, she says, “Daddy did it”. She then pulls up her T-shirt and shows you a number of dark
bluish bruises approximately 10 cm long on her lower back and says, “Daddy kicked me”.
11 How would you respond to Stephanie? List the actions, words
and body language you would use.
I will keep a very relaxed and composed body
language and try to aid her with the wounds that she
has got. They will try to understand her situation and
ask her further question regarding the details of why
she has got the bruise marks on her body. I will try
to analyse the status of their family and then if I find

someone guilty I will immediately inform the higher
authorities and report the matter to the nearest child
care unit.
12 What would you do with this information? I will like to talk to the concerning parents of the
child Stephanie, and then ask them regarding the
situation that they are facing right now. I will
definitely try to advise them to consult a therapist.
13 Based on the story of Stephanie, complete the Child Concern
Report on the template provided on eLearn.
(Upload your completed report via the assessment 1
drop box)
14 Based on Stephanie’s story, provide an example of a support
service in the Canberra Region that you could refer
Stephanie’s family. Provide a brief description of the services
they could offer to Stephanie’s family.
Name of service: Binara Early Childhood Centre
Support offered:
- Early Childhood Education and Care.
- Family and Individual Support
- Parenting program
Ethical considerations and reporting
Read the following scenario about Leigh and answer the questions below.
Leigh is a 10 years old. You have been working with him for the last 6 months. His family are reasonably new to the
area as they moved here from out of state 6 months ago. You have come to know the family personally through the
local sports club and have become well acquainted. His parents are both respected members of the community and are
involved in several charity organisations volunteering their time.
Leigh has been identified as requiring additional support at school and has a diagnosis of ADHD. This week children
have complained to the teachers on playground duty that Leigh has been loitering around the toilets and on two
occasions had attempted to coerce them to show him their genitals. You have noticed that Leigh’s behaviour has
worsened over the last 2 months as he has become more aggressive towards his peers. Leigh is submissive around the
male staff and at times jumpy. He is defiant of the female teachers and often refuses to follow their requests/direction.
Following a protective behaviours class, Leigh discloses to you that his father comes into his room late at night and
touches his penis. You report this to your supervisor who informs you that no report is needed, Leigh must be “making
it up” and that the father is a respectable member of the community and runs the weekend coaching program.
15 List the types of abuse you suspect Leigh may be
experiencing.
Types of abuse:
Leigh may be experiencing certain abuses like-
- Sexual Abuse,
- Domestic Molestation,
- Physical harassment,
- Sexual manipulation.

16 Ethically:
What is your ethical dilemma?
The ethical dilemma that arrives is that first of all the situation becomes highly sensitive due to the sexual involvement
of Leigh and his father. Secondly, being an adult it is comparatively uncomfortable to discuss such situation with a 10
year old child, who is not mature enough of understand the advice and consequences of the situation. Thirdly, father of
Leigh is seen as a respectable man to the Supervisor as he runs the weekend coaching program. Hence the ethical
barrier is there on the ground based on which I should talk to his father.
What action would you take in this scenario? Provide a brief explanation of why you made this final decision
(approximately 100 words)
I would like to learn the actual situation clearly from Leigh and then will try to analyse the fact whether he has other
intentions or if he is completely disclosing the truth. Eventually the factor appears to be truth as Leigh being a 10 years
old child may to have any type of possible grudge or problems against his father to victimise him and lie to the
teachers. Therefore I will try to talk to his father personally and will try to understand their situation from his father’s
perspective. And then if I find his father guilty I will readily inform the child care unit. Then may try to treat them
analysing their point of view. They will be further suggested to consult a psychiatrist.
What factors did you consider the most important in making your final decision?
Mandatory Reporting
17 How would a mandatory reporter determine that a report needs
to be made?
(Think about the legal requirements to act as well as potential
ethical considerations)
The reporter needs to analyse the factors based on
what terms can he fie his report specially highlighting
the key factors of the situation. Therefore the mode
of the concerns and the ethical issues should also be
kept in mind as the factor is very sensitive and deals
with a child who is the years old and does not have
the proper mental health and maturity. Therefore
considering these factors the mandatory reporter must
keep in mind while filing a report.
18 In our work there are different levels of confidentiality we
must maintain.
We may be provided with sensitive information verbally
(someone tells us something confidential) or it may be in
written form (as in a report, enrolment form, court orders etc).
There are laws and regulations that guide our practice in
maintaining confidentiality.
As a professional, what would you do to maintain
confidentiality of children, families and staff?
I will definitely try to cover the situation up and
handle the consequences keeping the identity of the
child and the family ambiguous. Anonymity will be
maintained all throughout the assessment and the
proceedings of the case. I will try to use superficial
names for the child and his father.

(Think about who you would/wouldn’t share information with
and how)
19 Describe what it means to you to provide “trauma-informed
care” in an education setting (50-100 words)
(Think about what knowledge and skills are required)
It means a lot to assist the students in an institution so
that they can help themselves to make their lives
better and stress free. The traumatic effect of the
students lies in their mismanagement and misleading
of the situations that they could not handle maturely.
Therefore external help is needed to organise and
stabilize their mental stability. I will be looking
forward for the cooperating with the students by
keeping and maintain certain factors in mind while
interacting with the students –
- Looking beyond the behaviour,
- Build relationships,
- Creating a safe environment,
- Meeting with the students where they are,
- Being predictable about the student’s
actions.