DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
POLICY
STUDENT WELLBEING – ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL
MISCONDUCT
Responsibility of:
Effective Date:
Next Review Date:
Target Audience:
Human Resource Services
January 2015
January 2017
All departmental staff
DET File: FILE2014/92
Doc: EDOC2014/15940
VERSION NUMBER: 1.0
1. This policy should be read in conjunction with the:

Student Wellbeing – Allegations of Sexual Misconduct guidelines

Safeguarding the Wellbeing of Children – Obligations for the Mandatory Reporting of Harm
and Exploitation policy
2. POLICY
The department has a responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children and young
people in its care, and takes this responsibility very seriously. Each individual departmental staff
member, volunteer, school council employee or other adult in the vicinity of children or young people
in the department’s care must contribute to the creation of a safe environment through active and
vigilant application of their personal duty of care1.
Child sexual abuse is any sexual act or threat imposed on a child or young person by an adult,
adolescent, or another child. People who sexually abuse children/young people, abuse the unequal
power relationship between them and the child/young person. Coercion (physical or psychological)
and exploitation of the child/young person’s dependency and immaturity is intrinsic to sexual abuse.
The intent of this policy is to ensure that the safety, wellbeing and best interests of children and young
people are met if they are sexually abused and become the subject of sexual misconduct by an adult
who has a connection with the school site. This includes staff, volunteers, school council employees
and other adults in the vicinity of children and young people in the department’s care, where the
allegations affect the suitability of that adult to work or volunteer with children/young people.
The Safeguarding the Wellbeing of Children – Obligations for the Mandatory Reporting of Harm and
Exploitation policy provides information pertaining to sexual misconduct by another child.
Sexual misconduct is a complicated and sensitive matter that requires an immediate response. It
ranges from inappropriate conduct that could form the basis of disciplinary proceedings, through to
sexual misconduct of a criminal nature that is handed over to the police. Given that even low level
sexual misconduct on the part of the offender can have a serious impact on the victim it is important
that every allegation is taken very seriously and reported.
The department has a strong commitment to natural justice and expects that it is applied when
managing allegations of sexual misconduct.
1
For the care and safety of children and young people all adults in the Northern Territory must abide by their legal
obligation mandated by section 26 of the Care and Protection of Children Act to report to the Department of
Children and Families, or the police, any reasonable belief they have that a child has been, or is likely to be,
abused or neglected, or has been or is likely to be a victim of a sexual offence.
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DoE Policy: Student Wellbeing – Allegations of Sexual Misconduct
Attending to the victim
When a person becomes aware of alleged sexual misconduct against a child or young person in the
care of the department2 the following actions must occur immediately and concurrently in conjunction
with the principal, site leader or other senior staff member of the site where the child or young person
attends3:

attend to the victim’s emotional needs

assist the victim to understand the process that will be entered into, inclusive of the need to
make immediate contact with the police

report the matter to, and seek the advice of, the Northern Territory Police (ph:131 444, or 000 if
an emergency), inclusive of advice related to:
O
the criminality or otherwise of the allegation
O
where the allegation is of a criminal matter seek immediate approval to inform the victim’s
parents/guardians
O
the preservation of evidence
O
best practice questioning of the victim, as the approach taken when supporting and
questioning the victim may impact on the success or otherwise of future criminal
proceedings
O
make sure to note the date, time and police report (PROMIS) number.

contact the victim’s parents/guardians, if provided with approval by police to do so

seek any medical assistance that the victim might require, being cautious about the need to
preserve evidence, as advised by the police

report the matter to the Department of Children and Families telephone hotline (1800 700 250)
as per the legal obligation to report under the Care and Protection of Children Act
O

make sure to note the date, time and report reference (Intake) number.
if the matter involves a child enrolled in a regulated preschool, notify Quality Education and
Care Northern Territory as per legal obligation under the Education Care Services (National
Uniform Legislation) Act.
Responding to the allegation
When a principal or site leader, or other senior departmental staff member becomes aware of alleged
sexual misconduct against a child or young person in the care of the department, they must:

immediately contact and inform all of the following senior departmental staff (or their delegate or
other senior officer if not immediately available): Regional Director, General Manager Human
Resource Services, Director Communications and Director Legal Services.

commence development of an incident management plan, in consultation with the above senior
departmental staff, and the police if necessary. The plan must include considerations related to:
O
an assessment of risks to; the alleged victim and other students, the site and its staff and
the alleged offender
O
informing and managing the alleged offender, inclusive of natural justice considerations
O
the investigation process to be used
2
Includes children and young people in the care of services operated by school councils and others using
departmental premises under lease or other arrangements, and Outside School Hours Care services operated by
private organisations.
3 If the allegation involves the principal or site leader, the allegation must be reported to the Regional Director or
other senior staff member within the department.
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DoE Policy: Student Wellbeing – Allegations of Sexual Misconduct
O
communication to parents/guardians and others that may need to be informed
O
ensuring that the incident is formally recorded and documentation stored within the case
management file in TRIM
O
adherence to the Newsflash guidelines and procedures.
The department will commence a preliminary inquiry or formal disciplinary investigation, led by the
relevant Executive Director Schools (North or South), in conjunction with the principal or site leader,
General Manager Human Resource Services, Director Legal Services and the Regional Director.
However, the department will not commence an external investigation with an independent investigator
while the police are carrying out an investigation.
3. RESPONSIBILITIES
A summary of responsibilities is included in the table below.
Staff to whom
the allegation is
reported by a
child/young
person

Inform principal or site leader or their proxy

Attend to victim

Mandatory report to Department of Children and Families (1800 700 250)
Principal or site
leader or their
proxy

Contact and inform police

Contact and inform parents/guardians, if approved to do so by police

Ensure that a mandatory report has been made to the Department of Children
and Families

Contact and inform Regional Director (RD)

Contact and inform General Manager Human Resource Services (GMHR)

Contact and inform Director Communications (DC)

Contact and inform Director Legal Services (DLS)

If the matter relates to a child enrolled in a regulated preschool, contact and
inform the NT regulatory authority, Quality Education and Care NT

Develop incident management plan with RD, GMHR, DC and DLS and police
if necessary

Commence Newsflash process through RD

As outlined in the incident management plan, contact and inform the alleged
offender in consultation with police if required

Ensure all school staff receive training in relation to the Student Wellbeing –
Allegations of Sexual Misconduct policy and guidelines each semester

Contact and inform the relevant Executive Director Schools (North or South)

Work with others in the development of the incident management plan

Progress Newsflash

Contact and inform the Deputy Chief Executive School Education and the
Chief Executive

Lead any resulting disciplinary proceedings against the offender

Lead periodic incident reviews of the response and management of sexual
allegation incidents and report any recommended changes to the policy and
Regional
Director
Executive
Director Schools
(North and
South)
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DoE Policy: Student Wellbeing – Allegations of Sexual Misconduct
guidelines to Human Resource Services

General

Manager Human

Resource
Services

Work with others in the development of the incident management plan
Contact Teacher Registration Board
Maintain electronic records of incidents in TRIM

Ensure that records of allegations/incidents are placed on employee’s file

Monitor and address inactivity on unresolved cases

Keep a record of, and be ready to report on, the numbers of incidents
investigated and the outcomes of investigations

Review the policy and guidelines as scheduled or earlier if deemed
appropriate

Work with Executive Director on disciplinary procedures
Director

Communications
Director Legal
Services
Progress Newsflash

Work with others in the development of the incident management plan
Provide legal advice as required in the development of the incident
management plan and on disciplinary procedures
Ensuring staff knowledge and understanding of this policy
In line with current mandatory reporting training, all school staff must receive training in relation to this
policy each semester. Further, principals must obtain the signature of each staff member attending
the training attesting to the fact that the staff member has read and understood this policy. Signed
documentation is to be retained by the school.
Staff must discourage and reject any advances of a sexual nature initiated by a student. Should such
a situation arise the employee must report any such instances immediately to the principal or site
leader to assist in preventing repetition and avoiding subsequent allegations (refer to Protective
practices for teachers in their interactions with children and young people).
4. BUSINESS NEED
Staff conduct, inclusive of breaches of discipline, is guided and regulated by the Public Sector
Employment and Management Act and its associated Code of Conduct (Employment Instruction 12).
Misconduct of a sexual nature is one of many ways that staff can breach discipline, but the sensitive
and complicated nature of this issue warrants more detailed guidance for schools.
5. SCOPE
This policy applies to all allegations of sexual misconduct made against any adult who has a
connection with the school site. This includes staff, volunteers, school council employees and other
adults in the vicinity of children and young people in the department’s care, where the allegations
affect the suitability of that adult to work or volunteer with children and young people.
The policy applies to allegations of sexual misconduct where any of the following situations exist:
 the allegation is disclosed on or off the site
 the incident is alleged to have occurred on or off the site
 at the time of the alleged incident, the victim was or was not in the direct care of the site.
The policy applies to adult sexual misconduct inclusive of inappropriate conduct that could form the
basis of disciplinary proceedings, through to sexual misconduct of a criminal nature.
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6. DEFINITIONS
Duty of care - the obligation to take reasonable care to protect others from foreseeable risk or injury.
Parent/guardian - includes the person who has the actual custody of a child or the person with whom
a child currently resides.
Sexual misconduct – adult sexual misconduct, inclusive of inappropriate conduct that could form the
basis of disciplinary proceedings, through to sexual misconduct of a criminal nature.
Site leader – means the person, other than the principal, who has ultimate responsibility for the
welfare of children and young people on that site.
Site – includes, but is not limited to, the primary care location such as the school or early years care
location, as well as other locations where the duty of care extends such as camps and excursions.
Staff – all adults who have a duty of care to children and young people at the site, including
volunteers, school council employees and other adults in the vicinity of children or young people in the
department’s care.
Victim - means the child or young person against whom an act of sexual misconduct by an adult who
has a connection to a site has been alleged.
7. RELATED POLICY, LEGISLATION AND DOCUMENTS
Legislation
 Public Sector Employment and Management Act and its associated Code of Conduct
(Employment Instruction 12)

Care and Protection of Children Act

Education Care Services (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011

Teacher Registration (Northern Territory) Act

NT Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act

NT Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Regulations

Sexual Offences (Evidence and Procedure) Act
Departmental policy
 Safeguarding the Wellbeing of Children – Obligations for the Mandatory Reporting of Harm and
Exploitation policy

Code of Conduct for Schools policy and guidelines

Bullying, Harassment and Violence policy

Complaints Management for Schools guidelines

Grievance Management policy and procedures

Working with Children Clearance Notices (Ochre Cards) policy and procedures

Taking Statements from Children guidelines.
Departmental policy (internal access only)
 Inappropriate Workplace Behaviour by Department of Education Employees guidelines
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
Newsflash guidelines and procedures
External reference materials
 Protective practices for teachers in their interactions with children and young people

Managing allegations of sexual misconduct in SA education and care settings
8. EVALUATION
Human Resource Services will, in collaboration with the regions and schools, evaluate the application
and effectiveness of the policy on a two yearly basis using information and feedback from periodical
incident reviews conducted by Executive Directors.
Human Resource Services will take responsibility for the ongoing review of implementation and the
continued development of resources to support the response and management of allegations of
sexual misconduct.
Executive Directors, Regional Directors and principals are responsible for the ongoing evaluation of
regional and school-level implementation of this policy.
9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The department gratefully acknowledges the South Australian (SA) Department for Education and
Child Development, Catholic Education SA and the Association of Independent Schools of SA for
their approval to substantially base this document on Managing allegations of sexual misconduct in
SA education and care settings.
The department also gratefully acknowledges the support of the Department of Children and Families
and the Northern Territory Police with the drafting of this documentation.
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