Child Protection

In reply to Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (17 November 2015).

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers): I have been advised:

1. Mandatory reporting is a term used to describe the legislative requirement imposed on selected classes of people to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect to government authorities.

Maintenance contractors are not mandated notifiers under the Children's Protection Act 1993. However, a provision exists in all maintenance service contracts that if a contractor becomes aware of any potentially hazardous situations within any premises of Housing SA, including squalor, the contractor must immediately bring it to the attention of the local Housing SA regional office.

2. Housing SA takes all reports concerning safety, squalor and child welfare very seriously. In the event that a Housing SA regional office received a report from a Multi-Trade Contractor regarding child welfare, Housing SA would make a report to the Child Abuse Report Line based on the severity of the alleged incident and as per current Housing SA policy.

3. There has been one reported incident in the past 12 months.