Queensland’s New Child Safe Organisations Act 2024

Organisations that interact or work with children have compliance obligations under the law to ensure child safety and protection, including reporting obligations where children are suffering or at risk of suffering harm.

In Queensland, two key pieces of legislation that these organisations need to be familiar with to understand their obligations are:

1.  Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld)
2.  Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (Qld)

The Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld) is currently administered by the Queensland Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety, and contains mandatory reporting obligations for:

1.  Mandatory reporters (including teachers, doctors, nurses, certain police officers, child advocates, and early childhood education and care professionals);
2.  Foster and kinship carers; and
3.  All adults (in the case of sexual offending against children).

The focus of this article is the application of the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (Qld) (the Act), which commences on 1 October 2025. 

The Act establishes 10 Child Safe Standards that must be adhered to by all entities within the definition of a “child safe entity”, and a Reportable Conduct Scheme for entities within the definition of a “reporting entity”.  

The implementation of the Act is monitored by the Queensland Family and Child Commission (the Commission).  Under the Act, the Commission has powers to initiate investigations into alleged harm and convictions involving harm against children, including entering premises with a warrant to gather evidence, and requiring reasonable help from occupiers including the production of documents or information.

What is a child safe entity?

A “child safe entity” is defined in s 10 of the Act as an entity:

1.  that provides either “services specifically for children” or “facilities specifically for use by children who are under the supervision of the entity”; and
2.  that is either mentioned in Schedule 1 of the Act or prescribed by regulation.

Importantly, this does not mean that organisations that provide services or facilities specifically for adults are excluded, if children are still involved. 

 For example, Schedule 1 of the Act defines a “religious body” as a child safe entity if it provides:

• a community or support service, including, for example, a chaplaincy service or children’s recreation service; or
• activities or services of any kind, including, for example, church services or youth groups.

Schedule 1 of the Act identifies further child safe entities from sectors including accommodation or residential services, education and care services, services for children with disability, health services, commercial services, transport services and community services.

If you are unsure whether your business or organisation is a child safe entity, please contact us for specific legal advice.

What are the Child Safe Standards?

Under s 9 of the Act, there are 10 Child Safe Standards that child safe entities (and other entities that opt in) must implement and comply with:

• child safety and wellbeing is embedded in the entity’s organisational leadership, governance and culture;
• children are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously;
• families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing;
• equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice;
• people working with children are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice;
• processes to respond to complaints and concerns are child-focused;
• staff and volunteers of the entity are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children safe through ongoing education and training;
• physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing and minimise the opportunity for children to be harmed;
• implementation of the child safe standards is regularly reviewed and improved;
• policies and procedures document how the entity is safe for children.

In complying with the Child Safe Standards, the Act further requires relevant entities to:

1. “provide an environment that promotes and upholds the right to cultural safety of children who are Aboriginal persons or Torres Strait Islander persons (the universal principle)”; and

2.  have regard to compliance guidelines made by the Commission in relation to the standards and the universal principle.

The current guidelines and a self-assessment tool can be accessed on the website for the Commission, at https://www.qfcc.qld.gov.au/childsafe/resources.

What is a reporting entity?

A “reporting entity” is defined in s 29 of the Act as an entity:

1.  that “cares for, supervises or exercises authority over children, whether as a primary function or otherwise”; and
2.  that is either mentioned in Schedule 2 of the Act or prescribed by regulation.

Schedule 2 of the Act defines a “religious body” as a reporting entity if it “provides activities, facilities, programs or services in which adults interact with children”.

Further reporting entities are identified in Schedule 2 from sectors including accommodation or residential services, education and care services, services for children with disability, and health services.

If you are unsure whether your business or organisation is a reporting entity, please contact us for specific legal advice.

What is the Reportable Conduct Scheme?

The Reportable Conduct Scheme requires a reporting entity to investigate and report certain conduct of a worker of that entity that causes or risks harm to children, regardless of: whether or not criminal proceedings for that conduct are on foot; whether that conduct (or omission) occurs once or multiple times; and whether or not that conduct took place during the course of that worker’s work. 

A “worker” includes an employee, volunteer, contractor, consultant, trainee, executive officer, and a minister of religion.  A former worker is included if the person allegedly engaged in (or was convicted of) the relevant conduct during a period when that person performed work for the reporting entity.

“Reportable conduct” is defined in section 26(1) of the Act as:

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

Under the Act, if a worker of a reporting entity becomes aware that a co-worker has allegedly engaged in reportable conduct or has been convicted of a crime that may involve reportable conduct, they must report the matter to the head of the reporting entity (or to the Commission, if the matter relates to the head).

The head of a reporting entity is responsible for ensuring appropriate systems are in place for preventing reportable conduct by workers, for enabling any person to notify the head (or the Commission) of allegations or convictions involving reportable conduct by a worker (or the head), and for investigating and reporting allegations or convictions involving reportable conduct by a worker.

In most cases, the head must notify the Commission of an allegation or conviction within 3 business days of becoming aware of the matter, give an interim (or final) report about the matter to the Commission within 30 business days of becoming aware of the matter, and give a final report to the Commission as soon as practicable after completing the investigation.

Under s 39 of the Act, the Commission may exempt an entity from its reporting obligations to the Commission if it is satisfied that the entity has the necessary “competence and resources” to conduct its investigation without the Commission’s oversight and has “demonstrated competence” in responding appropriately to reportable conduct.  If an exemption is granted it must be published on the Commission’s website.

Disclosure and confidentiality of information

The Act authorises the disclosure and sharing of relevant confidential information in certain circumstances that include (for example):

• “to respond to a concern about a failure to implement or comply with the child safe standards or universal principle” (s 48(2)(a) of the Act);
• “to lessen or prevent a serious risk or threat to the life, health or safety of a child or class of children” (s 49(2)(a) of the Act); and 
• “for taking appropriate action by a reporting entity or sector regulator for a reporting entity in relation to a finding that reportable conduct has been engaged in by a worker of the reporting entity” (s 49(2)(e) of the Act).

The underlying principle is that any disclosure is in a manner that is timely and for the purpose of protecting children from harm and ensuring their safety, wellbeing and best interests.  As far as practicable, a disclosing entity must protect the identity of any child who is the subject of the information being disclosed.

The Act authorises disclosure of certain information to affected persons (including a child who is the subject of the information, and a parent or guardian of that child).  However, any confidential information gained from the administration of the Act must not be recorded other than for a permitted use and must not be recklessly disclosed to anyone.  Penalties apply for non-compliance.

We recommend seeking specific legal advice if you require advice on how to comply with the disclosure and confidentiality obligations under the Act.

When do the compliance obligations under the Act begin?

The Act sets out a staged timeline for when organisations are required to comply with their obligations under the Child Safe Standards and the Reportable Conduct Scheme, depending on the sector.

For example, the Child Safe Standards compliance obligations currently commence:

• From 1 October 2025, for services for children with a disability;
• From 1 January 2026, for education services (including schools, childcares, kindergartens and OSHC) and health services; and
• From 1 April 2026, for religious bodies.

Compliance obligations under the Reportable Conduct Scheme currently commence:

• From 1 July 2026, for services for children with a disability and the early childhood education and care sector;
• From 1 January 2027, for other education services and health services; and
• From 1 July 2027, for religious bodies.

After commencement, all child safe entities are responsible for understanding and having systems in place to ensure compliance with the Child Safe Standards and those entities that are also reporting entities will need robust systems to comply with the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

It is essential to have up-to-date policies and procedures relating to child safety, but this will not be sufficient without taking further corresponding action.

 By Kathleen Stonehouse, Senior Associate

We recommend that your organisation seek specific advice now on how it can prepare for the changes .  Contact us to book an appointment with our charity and not-for-profit lawyers.