Wednesday 29 October 2025 – for immediate release
Yearly data for 2024–25 shows the value of Victoria’s child safety laws and the importance of holding organisations to account for protecting children from abuse and harm by creating and maintaining child-safe cultures. The data was published in the Commission for Children and Young People annual report, tabled in the Parliament of Victoria today.
‘The Reportable Conduct Scheme (Scheme) and the Child Safe Standards (Standards) are vital to growing the Victorian community’s understanding about how children can be harmed and abused in organisations, and how to keep them safe,’ said Meena Singh, Acting Principal Commissioner for Children and Young People, today.
Total notifications of alleged abuse or harm of children under the Scheme increased 18 per cent year-on-year to 2,232, and 178 per cent since the Scheme commenced in 2017. Within that total, notifications in the early childhood education sector climbed 32 per cent and there was also a 25 per cent increase in the education sector.
‘We see strong community concern to keep children safe leading to increasing notifications to the Commission. Through these notifications, we know children are still being abused in Victorian organisations. There is a great deal more work for all of us to do to stamp out child abuse in Victorian organisations. The data reported today shows the importance of the Commission’s role in guiding organisations, and holding them to account, through the Scheme,’ Commissioner Singh said.
Commissioner Singh also noted the significant increase in substantiations of sexual offences and sexual misconduct across all sectors, rising to 51 per cent and 48 per cent respectively, compared to an average substantiation rate of 30 per cent for the substantiation of all notifications across the Scheme.
‘Further improvement is needed in organisations to ensure that grooming and sexual misconduct is properly recognised and investigated, but these figures show that’s improving – perpetrators are increasingly being held to account and organisations are taking steps to improve,’ Commissioner Singh said.
Greater accountability was also being seen regarding the compliance of organisations with the Standards, Commissioner Singh said.
‘This year has seen increased action by the Commission to hold organisations to account for their obligation to create safe environments for children and young people and comply with the Standards, with compliance activity commencing across 140 organisations.
‘Implementing the Standards and being proactive in creating a child-safe culture is the best way for organisations to prevent child abuse, and respond to it effectively when it does occur,’ Commissioner Singh said.
Following the Rapid Child Safety Review, the administration of the Scheme and the Standards are being transferred to the Social Services Regulator. Commissioner Singh welcomed the Government’s promise of action to progress reforms aimed at improving safety for children and young people in Victoria.
‘The transfer is part of the continuing evolution of Victoria’s child safety systems that will see a shift from the initial establishment phase where the Commission set up the Scheme and regulated the Standards, to these systems being placed with a new agency that will also be charged with administering the Working with Children Check.
‘The Commission continues to support this transition in every way we can. We share hope that the Government’s reforms deliver real benefits for children and young people and that their voices continue to be at the centre of action to prevent and respond to child abuse and harm.
‘Empowering children and young people, amplifying their voices and centring their lived experience has been central to the Commission’s administration of the Scheme and the Standards since they began in Victoria, following the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse,’ Commissioner Singh concluded.
Download the Commission for Children and Young People annual report.
Media contact:
Darren Lewin-Hill
0437 046 360