Queensland’s Child Safe Organisations system now fully operational as new information sharing guidance released

Queensland’s Child Safe Organisations system is now fully in effect following the commencement of the Reportable Conduct Scheme on 1 July, with new guidance released to help organisations understand their information-sharing responsibilities.

In its latest Insights newsletter, the Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) said around 40,000 organisations across Queensland are required to comply with the Child Safe Standards, with around one-quarter also subject to the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

For early childhood education and care (ECEC) services covered by the reforms, the commencement brings a renewed focus to organisational child safety, responding to allegations of harm and understanding how different reporting obligations interact.

Under the Child Safe Organisations system, organisations within scope are required to comply with the Child Safe Standards.

Organisations covered by the Reportable Conduct Scheme are also required to report suspected reportable conduct to the QFCC.

Reportable conduct includes behaviour by a worker towards a child involving:

• a child sexual offence
• sexual misconduct committed in relation to, or in the presence of, a child
• ill-treatment of a child
• significant neglect of a child
• physical violence committed in relation to, or in the presence of, a child
• behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm to a child.

Importantly, the QFCC stressed that a breach of an organisation’s policy or procedure involving children and young people would not necessarily constitute reportable conduct.

Only behaviour by a worker that meets the definition of reportable conduct needs to be reported to the QFCC and investigated under the scheme.

The Commission has also developed shareable toolkits covering the Child Safe Standards and Reportable Conduct Scheme to help organisations communicate with children and families about their approach to child safety.

The QFCC has also released an information-sharing guideline to help organisations understand what information can be shared under the Child Safe Organisations system.

Information sharing between agencies, regulators, Blue Card Services and police is a key component of the system and, according to the QFCC, one of the ways it works to keep children and young people safe.

The guideline provides practical information about what can be shared, protections and limitations applying to information sharing under the relevant legislation, and principles organisations can use when making information-sharing decisions.

The information-sharing guideline is available through the QFCC website.

The QFCC has also reminded organisations that they may have reporting responsibilities to multiple regulators, each with different requirements governing what needs to be reported, when reports must be made and how they should be submitted.

Understanding these differences is important to ensure the right matter is reported to the right regulator at the right time.

Under the Reportable Conduct Scheme, organisations need to report suspected reportable conduct to the QFCC. A breach of an organisation’s policy or procedure involving children and young people, however, will not always meet the definition of reportable conduct.

Heads of organisations and their delegates can now use a secure QFCC reporting portal to submit initial, interim and final reports and upload supporting documents relating to reportable conduct matters.

The QFCC has also made an on-demand Reportable Conduct Scheme webinar available with Auslan interpretation. The webinar provides an overview of who the scheme applies to, what constitutes reportable conduct and organisations’ responsibilities when managing and reporting allegations.

Implementation of the Child Safe Organisations system is continuing alongside broader safeguarding reforms announced by the Queensland Government in June.

These include the future establishment of the Queensland Protection Commission, future integration of worker screening and the proposed Child Safeguarding Intelligence Hub.

The QFCC said it continued to work with the Queensland Government and Department of Justice on planning for the proposed transition, while maintaining its existing statutory functions and supporting organisations to implement the Child Safe Standards and Reportable Conduct Scheme.

The broader reforms will be implemented progressively and remain subject to legislative and implementation processes.

Further information about the Child Safe Organisations system, resources and Queensland’s broader safeguarding reforms is available in the QFCC’s latest Insights newsletter.