Child Safe Standards and the Reportable Conduct Scheme
Queensland’s new child safeguarding law—the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024—commenced from 1 October 2025. It aims to protect Queensland children from harm when they interact with businesses and organisations.
Under this law, businesses and organisations that work with children or provide services or spaces for them are required to introduce 10 Child Safe Standards (the Standards), and some will be required to introduce a Reportable Conduct Scheme (the Scheme) from 1 July 2026.
The Standards aim to create environments that prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children, while the Scheme requires organisations to report and investigate allegations of child abuse or misconduct by their staff and volunteers.
These 2 elements work together: the Standards aim to prevent harm in business and organisations, and the Scheme enables an appropriate response if harm or misconduct happens.
When implementing the Standards, businesses and organisations also need to create environments that promote and uphold the right to cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, known in the legislation as the Universal Principle.
Who must comply
Child Safety—along with other organisations that provide services specifically for children or facilities specifically for use by children who are under the supervision of the organisation—must now comply with the Standards and uphold Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s right to cultural safety.
Some examples of other organisations that must comply include:
- foster and kinship care services
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family wellbeing services
- schools
- youth groups
- sporting clubs.
How does this impact foster and kinship carers
Carers already do lots of things to ensure that children feel safe, valued, respected, empowered and included.
Under the new child safe organisations system, the biggest change for carers is the introduction of the Scheme. It will mean new reporting obligations and external oversight of Child Safety’s responses to all allegations of harm where there is a reasonable belief a carer’s behaviour is reportable conduct.
The Queensland Family and Child Commission’s (QFCC) role is not to provide oversight of individuals such as carers, but the organisations that individuals work or volunteer for.
Find out more about the Standards and Universal Principle and how they are applied by Child Safety.
Reportable Conduct Scheme
Responsibilities of a foster or kinship carer under the new system
From 1 July 2026, foster or kinship carers will also have a mandatory obligation to report behaviour by:
- another carer
- an adult household member, or
- a Child Safety staff member
if they believe the behaviour is reportable conduct.
How to report conduct
Depending on who the concerns relate to, you can report them to:
- a Regional Intake Service
- a Child Safety Service Centre
- Professional Standards, if the concern relates to a Child Safety staff member
- the QFCC.
Your foster and kinship care service can also provide guidance if you’re not sure what to do.
Reportable conduct investigation process
If a concern is reasonably believed to involve reportable conduct, Child Safety is required by law to tell the QFCC and investigate the allegation.
A reportable conduct investigation will not replace the existing harm report assessment process—this means there may be more than one response to the concerns:
- a harm report assessment conducted by a Child Safety Service Centre which is focused on whether a child has experienced harm and whether their care has met the legislated standards of care
- a reportable conduct investigation by a centralised Child Safety team, which is focused on a carer or adult household member’s conduct towards a child or children, and whether they pose a risk to children
- a criminal investigation by the Queensland Police Service, to investigate whether a criminal offence has been committed.
If the Queensland Police Service conduct a criminal investigation, Child Safety may need to stop the reportable conduct investigation. The investigation will be finalised when police tell Child Safety it is okay to continue. If this happens, Child Safety will tell you, if possible. Child Safety cannot do anything that would jeopardise a police investigation.
When a harm report assessment and a reportable conduct investigation are both occurring, the central unit and the Child Safety Service Centre staff will work together to ensure that:
- the children’s safety is prioritised
- the impact of the investigation is minimised on everyone involved, to the best extent possible
- communication is timely
- procedural fairness is applied.
The investigation will be completed based on information gathered by the Child Safety Service Centre staff. This means you don’t have to tell your story to multiple people, interviews with children will be minimised, and requests for information to other relevant people or organisations will not be duplicated.
At the end of the investigation, if an adverse outcome is proposed—that is, a finding that may have negative implications for you, namely that you have engaged in reportable conduct—you will be given an opportunity to provide a written response before the decision is made. Your written response will be taken into consideration when the decision maker makes their findings.
Concerns raised about a Child Safety staff member will be handled by Child Safety’s internal professional standards unit. Concerns raised about staff of a foster and kinship care service will be handled by the service. The same requirements to report to the QFCC and investigate apply.
Who Child Safety may contact during the investigation
By law, Child Safety must tell the QFCC about alleged reportable conduct by a worker, including a volunteer such as a foster carer, kinship carer or an adult household member.
Child Safety is required to provide the QFCC with reports during the investigation and at the end of the investigation about:
- how they’ve investigated the concerns
- the information they’ve gathered
- how they’ve protected children and the carer during the investigation and
- the findings of the investigation and reasons for the findings.
The QFCC will ensure Child Safety has conducted a proper investigation, taken appropriate action to protect children, and afforded the carer or adult household member procedural fairness.
If Child Safety tell the QFCC that reportable conduct has occurred, the law requires the QFCC to provide this finding to Blue Card Services, who will consider the information under its own laws and processes.
Child Safety must also tell the Queensland Police Service if the alleged reportable conduct may involve a criminal offence.
The Child Safety Service Centre staff responsible for the carer’s approval and the subject child will also be aware, because they will gather relevant information to inform the investigation and are responsible for making decisions about whether a carer is a suitable person to hold a certificate of approval, and decisions about a child’s care arrangement.
Child Safety will tell a child subject to an allegation about the investigation and the findings.
Children have a right to:
- know how Child Safety is responding to concerns about their safety
- make a complaint or know who they can talk to if they are dissatisfied
- support and services if they have experienced harm in Child Safety’s care.
Knowing about the investigation and its outcomes will also help children to understand why Child Safety has made decisions affecting them, if relevant. For example, Child Safety may need to remove a child from a carer and place them elsewhere to ensure their safety while an investigation is undertaken.
Subject to significant safety concerns for a child, carer or adult household member, Child Safety will also advise a parent or guardian about an investigation and the findings. Families have a right to know how Child Safety is handling allegations that relate to their child or children, and a right to make a complaint if they are dissatisfied with the response.
Your foster and kinship care service will be aware of the investigation because they will continue to participate in harm report assessments, which may occur at the same time as a reportable conduct investigation.
Depending on the circumstances, Child Safety may also share the information with:
- another reporting entity if there are risks to other children, or the entity is believed to hold relevant information to inform the investigation
- a Chief Executive Officer of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisation, if a child is subject to a delegated authority arrangement
- Blue Card Services in circumstances required by law, such as suspending or cancelling a carer’s certificate of approval (this is in addition to an individual’s responsibility to self-disclose substantiated harm to Blue Card Services)
- the Office of the Public Guardian.
Risk management action
At the beginning, during and at the end of a reportable conduct investigation, Child Safety must consider and put things into place to address risks to:
- any child or children
- the person subject to the allegation (the carer or adult household member)
- the investigation or another investigation (such as a criminal investigation).
Decisions about how to address risks are based on factors such as:
- the nature and seriousness of the allegations
- the vulnerability of the child or children
- the nature of the person’s contact with a child or children
- history of past allegations.
In some circumstances, Child Safety may need to address the risk by:
- withholding information about the allegations
- developing an immediate safety plan
- removing a child/children from the care arrangement
- suspending a carer’s certificate of approval.
If Child Safety needs to take one or more of these actions during an investigation this does not mean that reportable conduct has been found to have occurred and will not influence the outcome of the investigation. It means the actions were necessary to ensure children’s safety, prevent further allegations of reportable conduct against a carer or adult household member, and to maintain the integrity of the investigation.
If a foster or kinship carer is subject to a reportable conduct investigation
If a foster or kinship carer or adult household member is subject to a reportable conduct investigation, they can expect:
- to be told about the reportable allegation or allegations against them, provided this will not jeopardise an investigation
- to be treated fairly and with respect
- for their right to privacy and confidentiality to be upheld
- to have a support person with them when the allegations are discussed, if they wish
- to receive support and information from their foster and kinship care service
- to be offered additional support if needed, such as counselling
- to receive information about the process, including timeframes, and be kept informed about the progress of the investigation, especially if it is going to take longer than expected
- to be provided with a proposed adverse finding in writing, including information relating to the finding, and be provided with a reasonable timeframe to respond to the proposed finding in writing
- that any submissions they’ve made are taken into consideration by the decision maker when findings are made
- to be told how to raise a complaint or seek an internal review of the decision if they are dissatisfied.