ABC News (Australia) Health

Tasmania Police Told Authority It Was Not Part of Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting

Tasmania's Office of the Independent Regulator (OIR) discovered that Tasmania Police stopped submitting mandatory child‑abuse reports in August 2023, citing legal advice that the force was not an "entity" under the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act. The regulator flagged an eight‑month reporting gap and has pushed a legislative amendment to explicitly include police, ideally retroactively from August 2023. The state government announced the amendment took effect last week, but it remains unclear if the police will be required to account for the missed period. The OIR continues to process a surge in child‑safety notifications, with 567 reports logged in FY 2024‑25.