What strategies are in place for transient families and cross-border towns (e.g. Tweed Heads/Coolangatta, Quanbeyan/ACT)?
The new risk of significant harm reporting threshold is the result of changes to NSW legislation. It only alters the obligations for reporting children and young people who live in NSW or are present in NSW. The changed threshold is about the way NSW Community Services receives and assesses risk to children and young people. Reporters from other states will continue to contact the Child Protection Helpline direct. Existing practices around exchange of information between states remain the same. Agencies in other states that deal regularly with Community Services (i.e. those close to NSW borders) will be made aware of the changes accompanying the new threshold. The Helpline will also be able to direct interstate reporters to the Mandatory Reporter Guide on the internet, as needed. NSW Community Services staff will continue to follow the same process for making interstate risk of harm reports and alerts to other states, territories and New Zealand.
