Receive information from the notifier

The RIS provides Child Safety’s intake function during business hours and will carry out all intake procedures. A RIS will not refer the notifier to another RIS or CSSC.

Outside of business hours, the CSAHSC provides a statewide intake service.

When information is received from a notifier:

• gather and analyse the available information and form a judgement about likelihood and severity of future harm to a child (Refer to the practice guide Decision making at intake.)
• decide and record the response
• seek the senior team leader’s approval of the response. 

Obtain as much information as possible from the notifier and assess if there is information to reasonably suspect a child is in need of protection or an unborn child is in need of protection after they are born. A child in need of protection is a child who: 

• has suffered significant harm, is suffering significant harm, or is at unacceptable risk of suffering significant harm
  and
• does not have a parent able and willing to protect them from the harm.

If concerns are received:

• about a child who already has an open child concern report, safety and support response, standard response or priority response in Unify, refer to Receive new child protection concerns.)
• about a child who is subject to ongoing intervention, refer to Child subject to ongoing intervention
• about a child who is in another jurisdiction, refer to Information about a child in another jurisdiction
• about the standards of care being provided, or harm to a child in care, refer to Record concerns about the standards of care or harm to a child
• about a child in the long-term guardianship of a suitable person, or a permanent guardian, refer to Information about a child with a long-term or permanent guardian
• about a child and the harm is by a person who is not a member of the child's home, refer to Information about harm by a person who is not a member of the child's home
• that have already been received and recorded, refer to Record duplicate concerns.

If the information received or query does not contain allegations of harm or risk of harm to a child in Queensland, consider whether it will be recorded as:

• a limited intake response (Refer to Record a limited intake response.)
• an intake enquiry (Refer to Record an intake enquiry.) 

All other matters will be recorded, assessed, and responded to as either:

• a child concern report (Refer to Child concern report.)
  or
• a notification (Refer to Notification). 

Engage with the notifier

When speaking with the notifier, use your knowledge of abuse and harm to guide the conversation. 

Gather the following information from the notifier:

• whether they are making a mandatory report. (Refer to the practice guide Notifiers and mandatory reporting.)
• their contact details so they may be re-contacted, if needed
• accurate identifying information about the subject child, family, and other adults in the child’s home, and other relevant persons, including their
  • full name, aliases, and nicknames
  • age and date of birth 
  • address or whereabouts
  • gender 
  • cultural identity, including whether they are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person
  • relationship to the child
• details and concerns about any other child or unborn child in the child’s home 
• contextual information about
  • the child, including specific vulnerability due to age, disability, or other factors  
  • the parent, including actions or inactions, risks factors such as domestic and family violence, drug and alcohol use or mental health, strengths and demonstrated acts of protection  
  • the harm, including specific descriptions of the impact of the abuse or neglect on the child such as injury, behaviour, or developmental impact 
  • the child and family’s home environment
  • supports available to the child and family to meet any disability, health or mental health needs, and the level of engagement with these supports by both the child and their family.

Provide the notifier with information and advice when appropriate, and in particular, when the concerns may not reach the threshold for recording a notification. (Refer to Protective advice.) 

Always encourage the notifier to re-contact Child Safety if they have further concerns about the child. 

If the notifier is from a government or non-government agency, ask if they require feedback about the intake response. (Refer to Provide feedback to SCAN core member agencies and Provide feedback to government and non-government agencies.) In addition:

• advise the notifier of our obligation to inform the QPS of any allegation of harm to a child that may have involved the commission of a criminal offence relating to the child (Child Protection Act 1999, section 14(2))
• ask if they have information that a CSO would need to know if having contact with the family, based on their work with the family
• ask if they have informed the child or family that they were making a report to Child Safety.

Assess information from a mandatory reporter in line with usual intake processes. (Refer to the practice guide Notifiers and mandatory reporting.

Refer to Information about a reportable offender if a reportable offender may be posing a risk of harm to a child.

If the notifier (either a child or adult) indicates they may have been injured by of an act of violence, give them at least one of the following contact details for Victim Assist Queensland―in line with Child Safety’s responsibility under the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2009:

• The Victim Assist Queensland telephone number−1300 546 587 or email victimassist@justice.qld.gov.au.
• The Victim Assist Queensland website details. 
• A copy of the Victim Assist Queensland brochure.

Receive information about a child in Queensland who is subject to intervention in another state

• If concerns are received about a child who is in Queensland and is subject to an interstate child protection order or intervention:
• assess and respond to the concerns in line with usual intake processes 
• in addition, if the concerns received are not from the child protection authority in the other jurisdiction, advise the relevant jurisdiction of the concerns and the Queensland response. To do this
  • complete an interstate alert/notification from Queensland form in the request tab in Unify
    and
  • send the form to the interstate liaison team
• liaise with the relevant jurisdiction to coordinate responses and ensure the immediate safety of the child. 

The Interstate Child Protection Protocol (October 2021), section 3 requires all states to assess alleged harm to a child in accordance with its own legislation and policy requirements. 

Do not delay the response to a child’s safety and wellbeing because they are subject to an interstate child protection order or intervention. 

When concerns are received by a CSO or at a CSSC

Use the table below to determine how to respond to concerns received at a CSSC. 

Inform the notifier of their legislative protections

Inform the notifier that:
their confidentiality is protected, unless exceptions apply
they are protected from liability, if they are acting honestly and reasonably. 

Refer to the practice guide Notifiers and mandatory reporting.

Recontact the notifier

Make reasonable attempts to recontact notifiers when concerns are received in writing and seek further information or clarification to decide the intake response.

If the information was received by telephone, and additional information is required to make the intake decision, recontact the notifier to seek additional information as soon as possible.
If the notifier cannot be recontacted in a timely way, and they are from a prescribed entity or a specialist service provider (in accordance with the Child Protection Act 1999, section 159M), obtain approval from the senior team leader to request the information under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 159N. (Refer to Seek additional information.)
 

Report information to the Queensland Police Service

Immediately make a report to the QPS when information is received:

• about alleged harm to a child that may involve the commission of a criminal offence relating to the child. (Child Protection Act 1999, section 14(2)), regardless of the Child Safety response or whether the child is in care. If unsure it is advised to report the matter. 
• from a Queensland Health paediatrician about suspected harm or risk of harm resulting from fabricated or induced illness (Refer to Factitious disorder imposed on another).

Report a matter to the QPS:

• regardless of whether or not the child is in care
• regardless of who is allegedly responsible for the harm 
• irrespective of the intake response 
• even if the notifier has or intends to report the matter to the QPS.

To make a report:

• Complete a police referral in the intake case in Unify and attach relevant documents.
• Send the referral in Unify to the relevant Child Protection and Investigation Unit (CPIU).
• Contact the CPIU to ensure they have received the referral, if required.

Respond to sexting

It is a crime in Queensland to:

• share an intimate image of someone without their consent, in a way that could reasonably cause distress to the other person
• threaten to share an intimate image without the pictured person’s consent, even if the image does not exist, including
  • threats made to the person in the image                                       
  • threats to anyone else.

A child under 16 years cannot legally give consent to an intimate image of them being shared.
Complete a Police referral (Child Protection Act 1999, section 14(2)) if information is received that suggests:

• a child or younger person has been menaced or harassed 
• a child has exercised force over, coerced someone younger or otherwise acted without the consent of the other person
• an adult is sexting a child who is under 16 years.

Respond when an urgent joint response with the Queensland Police Service is required

If a Child Safety planning officer advises a RIS that an urgent joint response is required, but the intake has not been finalised, the Child Safety planning officer will: 

• seek confirmation from the RIS senior team leader that a notification response will be recorded 
• negotiate for the intake to be urgently completed, approved and assigned to the relevant CSSC assessment team in Unify.  

Once the RIS senior team leader has confirmed that a notification will be recorded, a joint response may commence before the intake is approved and transferred to the CSSC. (Refer to Procedure 2 Consult with the Queensland Police Service to decide if there will be a joint response and the Child Protection Joint Response Team Policy Guidelines.)

If the RIS senior team leader and the planning officer disagree about the intake decision, they will:

• discuss the rationale for the decision
• reach agreement about how the matter will be recorded.

If agreement cannot be reached, the matter will be escalated to senior management. (Refer to Respond to disagreement about an intake decision.)

Report information to the Office of the Public Guardian

If a child is subject to:

• a child protection order granting custody or guardianship to the chief executive
• an assessment order
• a temporary custody order
• intervention with parental agreement
• a care agreement

provide the OPG with information in the following circumstances:

• when Child Safety reports a matter to the QPS involving a child at a visitable site
• when a notification is recorded for a child at a visitable site (Refer to Advise the Office of the Public Guardian.)
• when a child is seriously injured (Refer to Information about serious injury to a child.)
• when a child dies. (Refer to Information about a child’s death.)

The CSO who receives the concerns is responsible for providing the information to the OPG, excluding notifier details, as soon as possible, or within one business day. Refer to the OPG—Regional Visiting Manager contact details.