Child protection
Child Protection provides child-centred, family-focused services to protect children and young people from significant harm caused by abuse or neglect within the family. It also aims to make sure that children and young people receive services to deal with the affect of abuse and neglect on their wellbeing and development.
The role of the Child Protection Service is to:
- Receive reports from people who believe a child needs protection from abuse or neglect.
- Provide advice to people who report cases of abuse or neglect.
- Investigate when a child is believed to have been abused or is at risk of abuse or neglect.
- Refer children and families to services in the community for ongoing support and harm prevention.
- Take matters to the Children's Court if the child's safety within the family cannot be guaranteed.
- Supervise children on legal orders granted by the Children’s Court.
Mandatory reporting of child abuse
Some professionals such as doctors, nurses, police and school teachers are legally obliged to report suspected child abuse. In addition, any person who believes on reasonable grounds that a child needs protection can make a report to the Victorian Child Protection Service. It is the Child Protection worker’s job to assess and, where necessary, further investigate if a child or young person is at risk of significant harm.
Further information can be found on Reporting child abuse or Making a referral to Child FIRST.
Information sharing guidelines
Sharing information is important because effective service provision relies upon all relevant information being available. In addition, the most vulnerable families often need assistance from more than one agency, and information needs to be shared for these agencies to work effectively together.
Further information can be found on Information sharing guidelines.
Practice resources for child protection workers
Specialist practice resources provide additional guidance on information gathering, analysis and planning, action, and reviewing outcomes in cases where specific complex problems exist or with particular developmental stages in children’s lives.
Further infrormation can be found on Specialist practice resources.
- Victorian legal aid - multilingual publications
Illustrates the objectives of Victoria Legal Aid and a link to its multi language website.
- Child protection authorities and related community organisations
Contact Information
Victorian Police
Tel: 000
Child Protection Crisis Line
Tel: 13 12 78
(24 hrs 7 days, toll free)
Related Resources
- Child Protection Practice Manual (CPPM) online
- Framework for Protecting Children
- Child Abuse Reporting Statistics 1992-2007
- Safety and Wellbeing of Children and Young People
- Review of a Child Protection Decision
- Child FIRST
- Child protection workforce: the case for change
- Protecting children, changing lives
