Last week, Tasmania’s child safety laws were revised to address a critical oversight regarding the mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse by police officers. This update was prompted by revelations that Tasmania Police had ceased compliance with mandatory reporting requirements since August of the previous year, following legal advice suggesting that officers were exempt from these obligations.
The child safety regulator has now amended the legislation to explicitly include members of the police force in mandatory reporting requirements. However, it remains uncertain whether this amendment will be applied retroactively to cover the eight-month period during which reporting was not conducted.
The Office of the Independent Regulator (OIR) has characterized the previous exemption of police officers from this essential child protection measure as an “untenable situation.” The OIR is responsible for ensuring that organizations adhere to mandatory reporting laws concerning suspected or confirmed child abuse involving their staff.
Leaders of organizations in Tasmania are mandated to report incidents to the OIR, which then initiates an investigation and expects an update within 30 days. According to the OIR, Tasmania Police stopped fulfilling this obligation in August 2022, after receiving legal advice that deemed them exempt.
To address this issue, the OIR engaged with the Attorney-General and proposed a regulatory amendment to include Tasmania Police, with hopes for retroactive effect from August 1, 2025. The state government confirmed that this urgent amendment took effect last week, although it has not yet clarified whether Tasmania Police will be held accountable for the gap in reporting.
Louise Coe, the Independent Regulator, expressed her concerns in state parliament regarding the need for retrospective changes, noting that the police had not reported incidents to her office since the legal advice was issued. She mentioned being aware of several serious interactions involving young individuals during that timeframe.
Ms. Coe highlighted that the police’s legal counsel indicated they could not disclose the identities of officers involved in such cases to the regulator. “Our system tracks the details of allegations, so this omission raises significant concerns,” she stated during the parliamentary session.
Tasmania Police confirmed to ABC News that they had communicated with the regulator as part of a review of their procedures in light of the state’s child safety legislation. This review is ongoing.
During a parliamentary hearing regarding the recommendations from Tasmania’s inquiry into child sexual abuse, Ms. Coe’s remarks came to light. The inquiry had previously prompted legislative changes in 2024 related to mandatory reporting practices.
Tasmania Police had been scrutinized in the inquiry, which revealed shortcomings in their response to credible allegations concerning the late Paul Reynolds, a former police officer who sexually abused numerous children.
Greens MLC Cassy O’Connor questioned Ms. Coe about whether Tasmania Police had established any child safety frameworks, given their history of serious breaches of trust affecting children. Ms. Coe responded that prior to the recent developments, there had been effective engagement with Tasmania Police, which had initiated a child safety action plan. However, she expressed concern over the current gap in oversight.
Ms. Coe noted that some issues had emerged involving police officers in adult reception prisons, raising alarm about the lack of oversight in such cases. She emphasized the risks involved when young individuals in custody report being harmed by police employees.
In response to inquiries from ABC News about their communication with the regulator regarding the legal advice, Tasmania Police did not provide specific answers but referred to the recent legislative changes. They announced that they would resume referrals under the Reportable Conduct Scheme starting April 1.
Tasmania Police reiterated their commitment to being a child-safe organization, including the implementation of appropriate reporting and oversight measures to address any suspicions of harm to children or young people. They clarified that their legal advice indicated they were not classified as an entity under the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act 2023, which limited their ability to share certain information with the OIR.
Since the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse in 2017, many Australian states have adopted reportable conduct schemes, mandating leaders of specified organizations to report concerns of child sexual abuse involving staff. The final report of the inquiry indicated that police officers are among a broad spectrum of organizations required to comply with mandatory reporting laws. Similar to findings from the federal royal commission, the Tasmanian institutions and government were criticized for their inadequate responses to allegations and incidents of child abuse.
