when must I make a report?

You must make a report to Community Services when you have current concerns about the safety, welfare and wellbeing of a child for any of the following reasons:

• the basic physical or psychological needs of the child or young person are not being met (neglect)
• the parents or caregivers have not arranged necessary medical care (unwilling or unable to do so)
• risk of physical or sexual abuse or ill-treatment (physical or sexual abuse)
• parent or caregiver’s behaviour towards the child causes or risks psychological harm (emotional abuse)
• incidents of domestic violence and as a consequence a child is at risk of serious physical or psychological harm (domestic or family violence).

See more on signs of abuse.

Mandatory Reporter Guide

To help reporters decide whether a case needs to be reported to the Child Protection Helpline, reporters can use the online Mandatory Reporter Guide.

The Guide works by posing specific questions that help reporters work systematically through the issues relating to concerns they have about a child or young person.

At the end of the process, a decision report will guide the reporter as to what action to take.

A PDF version of the Mandatory Reporter Guide is also available.

Mandatory reporters from Ageing, Disability and Home Care, Housing NSW and Juvenile Justice in the Department of Family and Community Services, NSW Health, NSW Police Force and Department of Education and Training can also contact their Child Wellbeing Unit for advice.

Keep Them Safe Support Line

A support line has been established to assist mandatory reporters with the changes under Keep Them Safe (KTS) - specifically with the introduction of the new reporting threshold.

It is called the KTS Support Line and is a transitional service for the first six months of the new system.  

It will provide assistance in using the new Mandatory Reporter Guide, in determining whether a matter meets the threshold for risk of significant harm and in understanding the changes under KTS. 

It will also assist NGO mandatory reporters with referral pathways for cases that fall below the threshold.

Ring the KTS Support line on begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 

FREE 1800 772 479 end_of_the_skype_highlighting (8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays). 

The Support line will also provide information about how to access HSNET, the Human Services Network Service Link Directory, and details for referral services.