- Child sexual abuse mandatory reporting laws come into effect for youth justice workers
- 14 groups now mandated completing the Cook Government's $3.7 million mandatory reporter expansion
- Reflects commitment to keeping children and young people safe by delivering on Royal Commission recommendations
Mandatory reporting laws for child sexual abuse are now in effect for youth justice workers, marking the completion of the State Government's $3.7 million expansion to keep children and young people safe.
Mandatory reporters are legally required to report all reasonable beliefs of child sexual abuse to the Department of Communities.
The new laws bring the total number of mandatory reporting groups to 14 professions across Western Australia.
This includes doctors, nurses, midwives, teachers (including TAFE lecturers), police officers, youth justice workers, psychologists, school counsellors, boarding supervisors, ministers of religion, out-of-home care workers, early childhood workers, departmental officers of the Department of Communities and assessors appointed under section 125A of the Children and Community Services Act 2004.
The expansion of mandatory reporting groups demonstrates the State Government's ongoing commitment to child safety and implementation of the recommendations from the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
As part of its commitment to keeping children and young people safe, the State Government invested $1.7 million to expand the list of mandatory reporter groups to more professions. An additional $2 million was also invested by the State Government to support compliance with mandatory reporting.
The expansion of the mandatory reporting groups has been rolled out through a staged approach to ensure each group receives the necessary training and support to fulfil their new mandatory reporting obligations.
This includes free online training and resources available to help detect early warning signs of child sexual abuse, such as a change in a child's behaviour or physical signs.
Failure to make a mandatory report is an offence with a maximum penalty of $6,000.
For more information, visit www.wa.gov.au/mandatoryreporting .
As stated by Child Protection Minister Jessica Stojkovski:
"The safety of children and young people is the highest priority of the State Government.
"Expanding the number of mandatory reporter groups and equipping them with the training, tools and knowledge to detect early warning signs is just one of the ways the State Government is helping to keep more children and young people safe.
"The Cook Labor Government is proud to complete this $3.7 million expansion of mandatory reporting groups to create a safer Western Australia."
