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Reportable Conduct Scheme

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Reportable Conduct Scheme

Reportable conduct may occur through a single act or omission, or a series of acts or omissions. 

Update

The Queensland Government has announced that the early childhood education and care sector will now be required to implement a Reportable Conduct Scheme from 1 July 2026. Commencement for this sector was previously legislated as 1 July 2027. Amendments will need to be made to the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 when Parliament resumes to give effect to this change.

Queensland’s Reportable Conduct Scheme requires organisations to report and investigate concerns of harm to children. The scheme was a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, to improve the way organisations handle complaints and allegations of harm. The scheme is designed to protect children from harm, uphold their rights to safety and wellbeing, and ensure consistent and transparent responses across sectors.

The scheme will be introduced in phases, beginning 1 July 2026. The Queensland Family and Child Commission (the Commission) will administer, monitor and enforce compliance with the Reportable Conduct Scheme, starting from 1 July 2026.

What is reportable conduct?

Reportable conduct includes:

  • 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, or
  • behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm to a child.

Reportable conduct may occur through a single act or omission, or a series of acts or omissions. Conduct can be reportable even if it occurs outside work hours. The Reportable Conduct Scheme applies even if the conduct does not result in criminal charges, recognising that not all harmful behaviour is criminal but still poses a risk to children.

Who does it apply to?

The Reportable Conduct Scheme is part of the Child Safe Organisations system. It forms part of the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (the Act), which lists the categories of organisations required under the law to implement a Reportable Conduct Scheme. These are called ‘reporting entities’ and include:

  • Government entities
  • Child protection, justice and detention services
  • Education and health services, and services for children with disability
  • Early childhood education and care services
  • Accommodation and residential services
  • Religious bodies.

More detail about these categories is available in Schedule 2 of the Act.

What are ‘reporting entities’ required to do?

  1. Establish and maintain systems
    • entities must have systems in place to:
      • prevent reportable conduct by workers
      • enable anyone to notify the head of the entity of a concern
      • allow people to report concerns about the head of the entity directly to the Commission
      • investigate and respond to allegations.
    • this is ultimately the responsibility of the head of the reporting entity (e.g. Chief Executive Officer).
  2. Notify
    • workers must report allegations or convictions to the head of the entity (e.g. the Chief Executive Officer), or to the Commission if the matter involves the head of the entity
    • after the head of the entity becomes aware of the allegation or conviction, they must notify the Commission within 3 business days with an initial report.
  3. Investigate
    • heads of reporting entities must investigate reportable allegations or convictions, allow the worker to respond, and submit a final report to the Commission
    • a reportable allegation is an allegation that the employee has engaged in conduct that may be reportable conduct. At the allegation stage, there does not need to be any proof that the alleged conduct occurred
    • a reportable conviction is a conviction of a criminal offence involving reportable conduct
    • the report must detail findings, actions taken, and improvements made to child safeguarding systems in the organisation
    • the head of the entity must also provide information as requested by the Commission during the investigation.
  4. Report
    • the head of the entity must give the Commission either an interim report or final report (if available) about the allegation or conviction within 30 business days after the head of the entity becomes aware of the allegation or conviction
    • as soon as practicable after the investigation is completed, the head of the reporting entity must prepare a final report and give it to the Commission
    • if an organisation is aware of alleged conduct which may be or is criminal, it must report the matter to the police promptly
    • any police investigation has priority over any Reportable Conduct Scheme investigation. In this case, the reporting entity must still take steps to mitigate risks to children’s safety and wellbeing and can take interim risk management action pending the outcome of the police investigation.

When does the Reportable Conduct Scheme commence?

  • the Reportable Conduct Scheme will commence from 1 July 2026 and will be introduced through a staged approach, with all reporting entities required to comply by 1 July 2027
  • reporting entities required to implement the Reportable Conduct Scheme and the phases of implementation can be found on our Implementation in Queensland webpage. 

Any organisation required to comply with the Reportable Conduct Scheme must also ensure they meet the Universal Principle and Child Safe Standards.

Last updated
11 July 2025

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