Queensland organisations urged to prepare for new Reportable Conduct Scheme

Queensland organisations working with children are being urged to prepare for the state’s new Reportable Conduct Scheme, which comes into effect on 1 July 2026 under the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024.

The scheme forms part of Queensland’s broader child safeguarding reforms and will apply to around 10,000 organisations that care for, supervise or exercise authority over children.

This includes early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers, schools, disability and health services, youth services, religious organisations, sporting groups, recreation organisations and out-of-home care providers.

The reforms are designed to strengthen how organisations prevent, identify, report and respond to allegations of child abuse and misconduct involving workers.

Child Safe Standards and Reportable Conduct Scheme to work together

The Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 establishes two key safeguarding mechanisms: the Child Safe Standards and the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

The Child Safe Standards are already in effect and require organisations to embed child safety into culture, governance, policies and everyday practice.

The Reportable Conduct Scheme will commence from 1 July 2026 and will create a formal pathway for reporting and investigating allegations of reportable conduct involving workers.

Together, the standards and the scheme are intended to create a stronger system of prevention, detection and response.

Why the scheme matters

The Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) said the scheme will help create a culture where children, parents, carers and workers feel confident to raise concerns about harm to children.

The scheme also fills an important gap by creating a reporting pathway for concerning behaviour that may not meet the threshold for a police response but could still indicate a risk to children.

It will allow information to be shared between police, Blue Card Services, regulators and organisations, supporting earlier identification of risks and stronger organisational accountability.

What organisations must do before 1 July

Organisations within scope are being encouraged to begin preparations now.

This includes embedding the Child Safe Standards across governance, leadership, risk management, recruitment, training and organisational culture.

Organisations must also educate workers, volunteers and leaders about what constitutes reportable conduct, who reports can be about, how concerns can be raised and what happens once a report is made.

The QFCC has published information on what reportable conduct means, along with guidance on who the scheme applies to.

Organisations will also need systems that allow concerns to be reported to the head of the organisation and to the QFCC.

The head of the organisation, usually the chief executive officer, principal officer or equivalent senior leader, will be legally responsible for managing reports and investigations.

Failure to notify reportable conduct can attract penalties of up to $17,000.

Implications for ECEC providers

For ECEC providers, the reforms add another significant layer to Queensland’s child safety and compliance landscape.

Services will need to ensure their systems are ready to support clear reporting, timely investigation, risk management and appropriate record keeping.

Approved Providers and service leaders may need to review:

• child safe policies and procedures
• incident reporting processes
• internal investigation frameworks
• staff induction and training
• escalation pathways
• governance oversight arrangements
• record keeping systems
• risk management processes

The reforms also reinforce that child safety is not only a frontline practice issue. It is a leadership, governance and culture responsibility across the whole organisation.

Support available

The QFCC is offering webinars throughout May and June to support organisations preparing for the scheme.

The sessions will cover the types of conduct that are reportable, who reports can be about, the systems organisations need in place, and what happens at each stage of a matter, including reporting, investigations and risk management.

An on-demand webinar is also available for organisations unable to attend the live sessions.

The QFCC has also released the Guide to Queensland’s Reportable Conduct Scheme, which provides detailed information about the scheme, including definitions of reportable conduct, notification requirements, investigation obligations and guidance for organisations preparing for implementation.

A new era of child safeguarding in Queensland

The introduction of the Reportable Conduct Scheme marks a major shift in Queensland’s safeguarding framework.

For organisations working with children, including ECEC providers, the message is clear: child safety must be embedded across leadership, governance, culture and everyday practice.

With the scheme commencing on 1 July 2026, organisations in scope are being encouraged to prepare now to ensure their systems, processes and workforce capability are ready.