Reportable Conduct SchemeAustralia
Western Australia
WACommenced 1 January 2023

Western Australia

Framework & Regulation

RegulatorOmbudsman Western Australia
LegislationParliamentary Commissioner Act 1971

Notification Timeframes

Initial Notification 7 working days after the head of the organisation becomes aware; Final Report — full investigation report and remedial action plan upon conclusion.

Initial
7 working days
Final
Upon conclusion

Training Requirements

Handled via the Ombudsman's guidelines on structural child safety systems. Covered entities must track employee completion of reporting-process modules.

Child Safe Standards Induction

All new staff, volunteers and contractors before commencing child-related workOn induction (once), prior to any unsupervised contact

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

All staff and volunteers; intensive for managers and the entity headAnnual refresher

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

All workers in child-related rolesAnnual refresher

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

All staff, volunteers and contractorsAnnual acknowledgement and refresher

Re-affirms acceptable and prohibited behaviours, online/communication boundaries, gift and physical-contact rules, and the consequences of breaches.

Cultural Safety & Inclusion

All staff and volunteersAnnual

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

All staff, managers and leadersAnnual

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

All staff, managers and leadersAnnual

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

All staff, managers and leadersAnnual

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.

Reporting-Process Modules (Ombudsman WA)

All workers in covered entitiesAnnual, with tracked completion

Structured modules on the WA notification process and the 7-working-day initial notification clock, with completion tracked per worker.

National Principles & Structural Child Safety

Leadership and governanceAnnual

Embedding the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations into WA structural child-safety systems.

Whistleblowing & Public Interest Disclosure

All staff, managers and board; designated eligible recipients and whistleblower protection officersAnnual

Handling protected disclosures under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2003 (WA) 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

WA enforces strict licensing laws for external commercial investigators. If an organisation outsources a reportable conduct investigation, the contractor must be licensed under the Security and Related Activities (Control) Act 1996.

Audits & Processes

  • Notification systems testAnnual

    Verify the organisation can identify and notify reportable conduct within 7 working days and produce a remedial action plan on conclusion.

  • External investigator licensing checkPer engagement

    Confirm any outsourced investigator is licensed under the Security and Related Activities (Control) Act 1996 before engagement.

  • Working with Children Check auditAnnual

    Validate current WA Working with Children Cards across the workforce.