WA gears up for mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse
Source: Western Australia. Department of Child Protection. Media Release
"The State Government’s $68million investment in tough new child protection legislation making it compulsory for doctors, nurses, midwives, police officers and teachers to report suspected cases of child sexual abuse is now set to take effect. Child Protection Minister Sue Ellery said the legislation, which passed through the Upper House of Parliament, made it compulsory for those professions to report, if they believed on reasonable grounds that a child had been sexually abused. “The Government is well-resourced and prepared to handle the expected increase in the number of reports,” Ms Ellery said. “We have committed $68million for implementation of the legislation in the 2008-09 Budget, including $43.9million for a special unit at the Department for Child Protection to deal with reports of child sexual abuse and extra case workers to conduct assessment and investigations."