Child protection is everyone's responsibility. It is important that you know what to do if you need to report an allegation of staff misconduct or reportable conduct. The following extracts are from our Child Protection Policy. Please refer to the full policy in the link above:

What is reportable conduct?

6.1 Reportable conduct

Under the Children’s Guardian Act 2019, reportable conduct is defined as:

• a sexual offence;
• sexual misconduct;
• an assault against a child;
• ill-treatment of a child;
• neglect of a child;
• an offence under section 43B (failure to protect) or section 316A (failure to report) of the Crimes Act 1900; and
• behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm to a child.

Reportable conduct does not extend to:

• conduct that is reasonable for the purposes of the discipline, management or care of children, having regard to the age, maturity, health or other characteristics of the children and to any relevant codes of conduct or professional standards; or
• the use of physical force that, in all the circumstances, is trivial or negligible and the circumstances in which it was used have been investigated and the result of the investigation has been recorded in accordance with appropriate procedures; or
• conduct of a class or kind exempted from being reportable conduct by the Children’s Guardian Act under section 30.

Who should I tell if I am concerned?

​6.2.2 Parents, carers and community members

Parents, carers and community members are encouraged to report any conduct that is in their view inappropriate, reportable or criminal conduct to the Head of School. All such reports will be dealt with in accordance with TNS Grievance Resolution Policy.

Our Head of School can be contacted via email: catherine@tns.nsw.edu.au

If the allegation involves the Head of School, our Board Chair can be contacted via email: chair@tns.nsw.edu.au

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What happens if an allegation is made?

The Head of School is responsible for ensuring that the following steps are taken to investigate an allegation of reportable conduct.

6.3.1 Initial steps

Once an allegation of reportable conduct against an employee is received, the Head of School is required to:

• determine whether it is an allegation of reportable conduct;
• assess whether the DCJ or the Police need to be notified (ie, if reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is at risk of significant harm or a potential criminal offence). If they have been notified, seek clearance from these statutory agencies prior to TNS proceeding with the reportable conduct investigation;
• notify the child's parents (unless to do so would be likely to compromise the investigation or any investigation by the DCJ or Police);
• notify the OCG within 7 business days of receiving the allegation;
• carry out a risk assessment and take action to reduce/remove risk, where appropriate; and
• provide an initial letter to the ESOA advising that an allegation of reportable conduct has been made against them and the School’s responsibility to investigate this matter under Section 34 of the Children’s Guardian Act 2019; and
• investigate the allegation or appoint someone to investigate the allegation.

For further information, definitions and details please refer to the full policy above.