Araya Tuition · CS-03
Child Safety Reporting Procedure (Police and Authorities)
Araya Tuition (ABN 46 535 961 069). Version 1.0. Current as at 4 October 2026. Next review: October 2027. Document owner: Designated Child Safety Officer. New procedure.
If a child is in immediate danger, call 000 now. Then tell Araya's Designated Child Safety Officer. You do not need Araya's permission to call police or Child Safety, and you must never delay a report to police while you wait for Araya.
1. Purpose and who this applies to
This procedure tells everyone at Araya what to report, to whom, when and how when there is a concern about the safety of a child. It covers staff, contractors, tutors, mentors, coaches, volunteer drivers and other volunteers ("workers"). Parents, carers, students and community members can use it too.
It covers concerns about harm from anyone: a worker, a family member, another adult, or another child. It includes a separate process for allegations against Araya workers (section 8).
2. Key contacts
| Who | When | How |
|---|---|---|
| Police, ambulance, fire | A child or anyone else is in immediate danger, or a crime is happening now | 000 |
| Queensland Police: Policelink | Reporting a suspected offence against a child that is not an emergency, including a report under section 229BC of the Criminal Code | 131 444 |
| Crime Stoppers | Information you want to give anonymously | 1800 333 000 |
| Child Safety: Regional Intake Service | A child may be in need of protection (business hours) | Use the current regional intake number on qld.gov.au (search "Child Safety regional intake service") |
| Child Safety After Hours Service Centre | A child may be in need of protection (after hours, weekends, public holidays) | 1800 177 135 |
| Blue Card Services | Information about the suitability of a Blue Card or exemption card holder | qld.gov.au/bluecard |
| Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) | Araya's compliance with the Child Safe Standards, and the Reportable Conduct Scheme (section 7) | qfcc.qld.gov.au |
| eSafety Commissioner | Online abuse of a child, including cyberbullying and image-based abuse | esafety.gov.au/report |
| Kids Helpline (for children and young people) | Any time a young person wants to talk to someone | 1800 55 1800 |
| Araya: Designated Child Safety Officer, or the Deputy Child Safety Officer | Every concern, disclosure or incident, on the same day | 0466 373 048 (call, don't only text or email, if a child may be at risk) and reception@arayatuition.com |
If your concern is about the Designated Child Safety Officer, contact the Deputy Child Safety Officer or Araya's Director through the same number and ask to speak to them directly. You can also go straight to police or Child Safety.
3. Every adult's legal duties
3.1 Failure to report: Criminal Code (Qld) section 229BC
Every adult in Queensland must report to police if they gain information that causes them to believe on reasonable grounds, or they ought reasonably to believe, that a child sexual offence is being or has been committed against a child by another adult. The report must be made to police as soon as reasonably practicable. Failing to report without a reasonable excuse is an offence with a maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment. There are limited exceptions, for example where you reasonably believe the information has already been reported to police. If you are unsure, report.
Telling Araya does not meet this duty. You must make the police report yourself (Policelink 131 444, or 000 in an emergency). Araya's Child Safety Officers will help you do it, and Araya will also report.
3.2 Failure to protect: Criminal Code (Qld) section 229BB
A person in a position of authority at Araya who knows there is a significant risk that an adult associated with Araya will commit a child sexual offence against a child in Araya's care, supervision or control, and who has the power or responsibility to reduce or remove that risk, commits an offence if they wilfully or negligently fail to do so. The maximum penalty is five years' imprisonment. This applies to Araya's Director, the Designated and Deputy Child Safety Officers, and anyone who supervises workers or decides who works with students. They must act on any such risk at once, for example by standing a worker down (section 8).
3.3 Reporting to Child Safety: Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld)
Anyone may report to Child Safety a reasonable suspicion that a child has been, is being or is at unacceptable risk of being significantly harmed and may not have a parent able and willing to protect them. Most Araya workers are not "mandatory reporters" under that Act when working for Araya. But if you are a mandatory reporter in another role (for example a registered teacher, doctor or nurse), you must also follow those obligations. Araya will report to Child Safety whenever this test is met.
3.4 Araya's rule
Every Araya worker must report every child-safety concern, disclosure or incident to the Designated Child Safety Officer (or Deputy) on the same day, and immediately if a child may be at risk. This applies to every student under 18, whatever the law requires.
4. What to report
- A child tells you they have been harmed or are unsafe (a disclosure), or someone else tells you a child is being harmed.
- Signs of physical abuse, sexual abuse or exploitation, emotional or psychological harm, neglect, or exposure to domestic and family violence.
- Grooming: an adult building a special relationship with a child or their family to gain access to the child. Examples are gifts, secrets, private messages, offers of lifts, or time alone. Grooming a child, or a parent or carer of a child, is an offence under section 218B of the Criminal Code (Qld).
- Any conduct by an Araya worker that breaches the Child Safety Code of Conduct or crosses a professional boundary, even if it seems minor.
- Online harm involving a student, including image-based abuse, sextortion and cyberbullying.
- Harmful behaviour by one child towards another, including harmful sexual behaviour.
- A child who may be at risk of self-harm or suicide.
5. Responding to a child's disclosure
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Stay calm, listen, and take the child seriously. | Don't show shock, anger or disbelief. |
| Tell the child they did the right thing by telling you, and that it is not their fault. | Don't promise to keep it a secret. Explain kindly that you need to tell people whose job is to help keep them safe. |
| Let the child talk in their own words. If you need to, use only open prompts such as "Tell me more" or "What happened next?" | Don't question the child for details, ask leading questions ("Did he touch you?"), or ask them to repeat their story to others. Police and Child Safety will do any interviewing. |
| Write down what the child said, in their exact words, as soon as you can. Include the date, the time, where you were, who was present and what you saw. | Don't investigate, examine or photograph injuries, or contact the person the child has named. |
| Report it to the Designated Child Safety Officer the same day. If the child may be going home to harm, report before the child leaves Araya. | Don't discuss it with other workers, families or students, or post anything about it. |
If the child does not speak English well, do not use another child or a family member to interpret about the disclosure. Araya will arrange a qualified interpreter (for example through TIS National) when a follow-up conversation is needed.
6. Step by step
Step 1. Make the child safe
Call 000 if anyone is in immediate danger or needs urgent medical help. Give first aid if needed. Keep the child away from the person they have named, and do not leave the child alone. Make sure another carded adult is present.
Step 2. Tell the Designated Child Safety Officer immediately
Phone the Designated Child Safety Officer, or the Deputy if the Designated Officer is not available. If neither can be reached and a child may be at risk, contact police or Child Safety directly, then keep trying Araya. If the concern is about the Designated Child Safety Officer, go to the Deputy or the Director.
Step 3. Report to the authorities
| Situation | Report to | Who reports, and when |
|---|---|---|
| You believe, or ought reasonably to believe, that an adult has committed or is committing a sexual offence against a child | Police (Policelink 131 444; 000 if urgent) | You personally (s229BC), as soon as reasonably practicable. The Designated Child Safety Officer also reports. |
| Any other suspected crime against a child (assault, threats, grooming, child abuse material, stalking) | Police | The Designated Child Safety Officer, the same day (immediately if urgent). Any worker may report directly. |
| A child may have been, or be at risk of being, significantly harmed and may not have a parent able and willing to protect them | Child Safety (Regional Intake Service; After Hours 1800 177 135) | The Designated Child Safety Officer, the same day. Any worker may report directly. |
| An allegation about an Araya worker | Police (if the conduct may be criminal), Blue Card Services, and the QFCC if Araya is a reporting entity (section 7) | The Designated Child Safety Officer (or Deputy or Director if the Designated Officer is involved), following section 8 |
| Online abuse of a student (image-based abuse, cyberbullying) | eSafety Commissioner; police if it may be criminal | The Designated Child Safety Officer, with the family |
| A serious injury or dangerous incident that may be notifiable under work health and safety law | As set out in the Emergency Management and First Aid Policy | The person in charge |
Write down every report: who you spoke to, the date and time, and any reference number.
Step 4. Record it in the teacher portal
On the same day, complete an Incident Report in the Araya teacher portal (Incident Report tab): the date, the student (or "whole session"), the incident type, a summary, and the details and action taken. Record facts, not opinions: the child's exact words, what you saw and heard, who was there, and who you reported to and when. Workers without teacher-portal access use the Child Safety Concern Form, and the Designated Child Safety Officer enters it in the portal. Incident reports are confidential child-safety records, visible only to Araya administrators and the Child Safety Officers.
Step 5. Tell the parents or carers, unless that would put the child at risk
The Designated Child Safety Officer decides who tells the child's parents or carers, and when. Araya will not tell a parent or carer first if they may be the source of harm, if telling them may put the child or anyone else at risk, or if police or Child Safety ask Araya to wait. In those cases, Araya follows the advice of police or Child Safety.
Step 6. Support and follow-up
The Designated Child Safety Officer makes sure the child and family are offered support (for example Kids Helpline or a referral to a local service). Araya also supports the worker who received the disclosure and offers them a debrief. The Designated Child Safety Officer reviews whether Araya's risks or controls need to change, and updates the risk register.
7. Child Safe Standards and the Reportable Conduct Scheme
Araya applies the ten Child Safe Standards and the Universal Principle under the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (Qld), which are overseen by the QFCC.
The Act's Reportable Conduct Scheme started on 1 July 2026. It applies to organisations the Act lists as "reporting entities". The head of a reporting entity must notify the QFCC of reportable allegations and convictions involving its workers within set timeframes, and must investigate them. Araya will confirm with the QFCC whether Araya is a reporting entity and will update this procedure when it has an answer. If Araya is a reporting entity, it will notify the QFCC and investigate within the timeframes the Act requires.
Whether or not the Scheme applies, Araya reports allegations against its workers to police (where the conduct may be criminal) and to Blue Card Services, and handles them under section 8.
8. Allegations against an Araya worker
This section applies to any allegation or concern that an Araya staff member, contractor or volunteer (including a driver) has harmed a child or behaved inappropriately towards a child. This includes sexual misconduct, grooming, physical violence, ill-treatment, neglect, conduct causing significant emotional harm, or a serious breach of the Code of Conduct. It applies whether the conduct happened at Araya or elsewhere, now or in the past.
- Who manages it. The Designated Child Safety Officer. If the Designated Officer is involved, conflicted or close to the person, the Deputy Child Safety Officer or the Director manages it instead. Anyone with a conflict of interest steps aside.
- Stand the worker down from child contact straight away, while the matter is dealt with. Remove them from rosters, sessions and transport runs, switch off their access to students in the portals, and switch off handovers in the Driver app. Standing down protects everyone. It is not a finding that the allegation is true.
- Police first. If the conduct may be criminal, report to police before taking any internal step that could alert the worker or affect evidence, and ask police what Araya may do and say, and when.
- Do not investigate criminal matters yourself. Do not interview the child, confront the worker, take statements from witnesses or try to work out what happened until police say Araya may go ahead.
- Preserve evidence. Nobody may delete or change portal messages, incident reports, notes, attendance rolls, handover records, transport consents, trip and GPS records, photos or files. The Designated Child Safety Officer has an administrator secure copies of relevant records.
- Tell Blue Card Services about the allegation and the action Araya has taken, and record it in the Blue Card register. If Blue Card Services suspends or cancels the worker's card, follow the Recruitment, Screening and Blue Card Policy (HR-01).
- Fair internal process. Once police have said Araya may go ahead, or that they will not act, Araya runs a fair, documented process. It may use an independent investigator. The worker is told the substance of the allegation and given a real chance to respond, and may bring a support person. Findings are made on the balance of probabilities. Possible outcomes include no further action, further training, conditions or supervision, or ending the person's engagement with Araya.
- Report the outcome to Blue Card Services, and to the QFCC if Araya is a reporting entity.
- Support the child and family throughout, and keep them informed as far as police and privacy allow.
- Review. Afterwards, the Designated Child Safety Officer and the Director review what allowed the concern to arise and change Araya's practices if needed.
9. Concerns about harm by another child
Araya's first step is to make sure every child involved is safe and supervised. The Designated Child Safety Officer then decides, with the families where it is safe to involve them, whether to report to police or Child Safety. Araya puts a written safety and supervision plan in place, and supports both the child who was harmed and the child who caused harm. Harmful sexual behaviour by a child is always reported to the Designated Child Safety Officer on the same day.
10. Confidentiality and protection for people who report
- Information about a concern is shared only with people who need to know it to keep children safe or to meet the law.
- Araya shares information with police, Child Safety, Blue Card Services, the QFCC and other authorities where the law requires or permits it, including to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a person's safety.
- The law protects the identity of people who report to Child Safety in good faith.
- Araya will not treat anyone unfairly for raising a concern in good faith, and protects children and witnesses from retaliation. Retaliation is a serious breach of the Code of Conduct.
11. Records
Concerns, disclosures, incident reports, reports to authorities, notes of conversations, investigation records and outcomes are child-safety records. Araya keeps them securely for at least 45 years, in line with recommendation 8.4 of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Araya does not delete them when a student or worker leaves. Access is limited to Araya administrators, the Child Safety Officers and the Director, and to authorities where the law requires.
12. Training and review
Every worker learns this procedure at induction, through the Child Safety Foundations course and Araya's induction (HR-01), and again whenever it changes. The Designated Child Safety Officer reviews this procedure at least once a year, after any serious incident, and whenever the law changes.
13. Legislation and sources
- Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld), Schedule 1 (Criminal Code), sections 218B (grooming), 229BB (failure to protect) and 229BC (failure to report)
- Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld)
- Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (Qld): Child Safe Standards, Universal Principle and Reportable Conduct Scheme
- Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 (Qld)
- Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth)
- Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
- Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Final Report (2017), recommendation 8.4
This document is Araya's policy. It is not legal advice. If it differs from the law, the law applies; where this document sets a stricter rule than the law, Araya follows the stricter rule.