Tasmania
Framework & Regulation
Notification Timeframes
Initial Notification 3 business days; Final Report upon completion, outlining investigation findings, disciplinary outcomes, and systems improvements.
Training Requirements
Integral to compliance with Tasmania's Child and Youth Safe Standards. The OIR provides self-assessment tools requiring entities to verify regular staff education cycles.
Child Safe Standards Induction
Foundational induction covering the organisation’s child-safe policy, code of conduct, professional boundaries, and how to raise a concern. Completion must be recorded against each worker.
Reportable Conduct & Threshold Recognition
Teaches the difference between a performance/HR matter and reportable conduct (sexual offences/misconduct, physical violence, significant emotional or psychological harm, and significant neglect of a child), and the legal duty to notify the regulator.
Mandatory Reporting & Identifying Harm
Recognising indicators of abuse and neglect and the separate obligation to report risk of significant harm to child protection or police, which runs alongside (not instead of) reportable conduct notification.
Code of Conduct & Professional Boundaries
Re-affirms acceptable and prohibited behaviours, online/communication boundaries, gift and physical-contact rules, and the consequences of breaches.
Cultural Safety & Inclusion
Culturally safe practice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children with disability, and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, aligned to the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
Respect at Work
Reportable Conduct Scheme program on preventing and responding to workplace sexual harassment and discrimination, and meeting the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) introduced by the Respect@Work reforms.
Psychological Safety at Work
Reportable Conduct Scheme program on building a psychologically safe workplace and identifying and managing psychosocial hazards in line with WHS psychosocial regulations and codes of practice.
Psychosocial Hazards in the Workplace
Reportable Conduct Scheme program on identifying, assessing and controlling psychosocial hazards at work in line with the model WHS Regulations and the Managing psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice.
Child and Youth Safe Standards (TAS)
Aligned to the OIR self-assessment tools, which require evidence of regular staff education cycles.
Trauma-Informed Interviewing of Children
The OIR scrutinises whether trauma-informed protocols were used whenever children are interviewed during an investigation.
Whistleblowing & Public Interest Disclosure
Handling protected disclosures under the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2002 (Tas) for the public sector, including confidentiality, protection from detriment and reprisal, and the role of eligible recipients. It also covers the Commonwealth whistleblower protections in Part 9.4AAA of the Corporations Act 2001 (strengthened by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Act 2019) for companies and not-for-profits, and the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) for the Australian Government public sector.
Investigations
External investigators require appropriate registration/licensing in Tasmania. The OIR focuses heavily on whether the investigator utilised trauma-informed protocols if children were interviewed.
Audits & Processes
- OIR self-assessmentAnnual
Complete the OIR self-assessment tools and retain evidence of education cycles and the Universal Principle of cultural safety.
- Trauma-informed practice reviewPer matter
Confirm child interviews followed trauma-informed protocols and that findings, disciplinary outcomes and systems improvements are documented.