Reportable Conduct & reportable incidents

National Workplace Investigations in collaboration with Child Safe Specialists Australia offer child safe services in line with the national principles for child safe organisations as outlined by the Royal Commission. National Workplace Investigations forms part of the broader Nemesis Consultancy Group and is one of few companies that can offer child safe services from business audits, investigations through to child safe training services.

REPORTABLE CONDUCT

Reportable conduct includes any sexual offence or sexual misconduct committed against, with or in the presence of a child. It includes child pornography offences and any assault, ill-treatment or neglect of a child or behaviour that causes psychological harm to a child. A child is any person under the age of 18 years of age.

If an allegation is made that infers a reportable conduct incident has occurred, this must become a reportable incident.

REPORTABLE INCIDENT

A reportable incident means any of the following in connection with an employee, or a funded provider, and a person with disability living in supported group accommodation.

• Any sexual offence committed against, with, or in the presence of the person with disability

• Sexual misconduct committed against, with, or in the presence with the person with disability

• An assault of a person with disability

• Ill treatment or neglect of the person with disability

With either reportable conduct or a reportable incident, there is often confusion and difficulty that stems from the allegation. This affects all parties differently and such investigations need to be undertaken only by those with sufficient experience in this area.

Owing to the frequent overlap between the respective reportable conduct schemes and the employment and criminal law processes across jurisdictions, it is important investigators are skilled in conducting both reportable conduct and employment investigations and have a detailed understanding of the criminal law process.

In such matters, there are specific regulatory requirements that must be met by the organisation including reporting in set timeframes (currently 30 days), and the ongoing management of the risks associated with parties to the complaint (victim, other vulnerable persons and the respondent). This will also include the requirement to communicate with the child or person with disability, as well as the person subject of the allegation(s), in an appropriate and lawful manner.

The interview of a child or person with disability must be undertaken only by those with sufficient experience to do this task.