Compulsory reporting part two: discretion not to report assaults

Welcome to part two of our three part guide to compulsory reporting. In this part, we explain the circumstances where approved providers may exercise their discretion not to report assaults.

Please read part one for information about compulsory reporting of assaults and part three for information about compulsory reporting of missing residents.

When may an approved provider not report an assault?

Approved providers may exercise the option not to report allegations or suspicions of assaults to the Department of Health and Ageing in some circumstances when the assault is committed by a resident with a cognitive or mental impairment.

All of the following circumstances must occur before an approved provider may exercise their discretion not to report:

• the cognitive or mental impairment of the alleged assailant was assessed before the approved provider received the allegation or suspicion of an assault and
• the approved provider put in place arrangements to manage the resident’s behaviour (or reviewed existing arrangements and modified them if necessary) within 24 hours and
• the approved provider has a copy of the assessment of cognitive or mental impairment and
• the approved provider has a record of the arrangements put in place.

It is important to note that approved providers do not have discretion not to report assaults if the victim is the only person with a cognitive impairment.

More information

For more information please refer to the compulsory reporting guidelines for approved providers of residential aged care.

If you would like more information or have any questions, please leave a comment below.