Law on failing to report child sexual abuse
Part of the Crime topic
Understand the law on failing to report child sexual abuse in Queensland.
In short
These laws and rules apply to the legal obligation of adults in Queensland.
Use these rules to understand:
- what constitutes a child sexual offence
- when you must report sexual offending
- what qualifies as a reasonable excuse for not reporting.
Child sexual abuse is offending of a sexual nature committed against a child and can occur as a single act or a series of acts over time.
Since 5 July 2021, all adults in Queensland are legally required to report to police sexual offences against a child, by another adult, unless they have a reasonable excuse.
The maximum penalty for failing to report a reasonable belief of a child sexual offence is 3 years in prison.
You must
To comply with the law in Queensland you must:
- Report to police if you reasonably believe that a child has been or is being sexually abused by another adult.
- Make the report as soon as reasonably practicable after you form the belief.
- Report offences even if they occurred in the past, provided you received the information after 5 July 2021 and have no reasonable excuse for not reporting.
You cannot
To comply with the law in Queensland you cannot:
- Ignore information that reasonably indicates a child has been sexually abused.
- Assume that privilege, such as legal professional privilege or sexual assault counselling privilege, exempts you from reporting.
- Fail to report information gained during a religious confession, as this must also be reported to police.
Exceptions and special circumstances
You may have a reasonable excuse for not reporting if you:
- Know the offence has already been reported to police or another appropriate authority (e.g. Child Safety).
- Reasonably believe the victim, if over 16, does not want the information reported to police.
- Believe reporting the offence would endanger you or another person other than the alleged offender.
- Are a relevant professional (e.g. medical practitioner, psychologist, nurse, midwife, social worker, or counsellor) and:
- you received the information in a professional capacity.
- the information was disclosed in a confidential professional relationship.
- you reasonably believe there is no real risk of serious harm to the child or other children if the information is not disclosed.