• Introduction
  • Acknowledgments
  • The Department of Child Safety
  • Relevant legislation
  • Other key departmental documents
  • Accountability for children in Queensland
  • Framework for the participation of children and young people in decision-making
  • Respecting diversity
  • Recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entities
  • Delegations
  • Child safety service centres: Staff roles and responsibilities
  • How to use the Child Safety Practice Manual
• Practice maps
  • Child Safety framework
  • Intake
  • Investigation and assessment
  • Ongoing intervention
  • Matters of concern
• General procedures
  • i. Decision-making about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
  • ii. Staff safety and well-being
  • iii. Structured Decision Making
  • iv. Statutory obligation to notify the Queensland Police Service of possible criminal offences
  • v. Case management
  • vi. Information sharing
  • vii. Making a referral to Evolve
  • viii. Referral for active intervention services
  • ix. The role of the Child Safety After Hours Service Centre
  • x. Writing affidavits
  • xi. Responding to client complaints
  • xii. Recording alerts for a child and family
  • xiii. Providing adoption services
  • xiv. The video taping or recording of departmental staff
• Chapters
  • 1. Intake
  • 2. Investigation and assessment
  • 3. Use of powers
  • 4. Ongoing intervention
  • 5. Intervention with parental consent
  • 6. Intervention with a child protection order
  • 7. Children in out-of-home care
  • 8. Regulation of care
  • 9. Matters of concern
  • 10. Unborn children
  • 11. Transfers
  • 12. Professional supervision
  • 13. Critical incident reporting
  • 14. Child deaths
  • 15. Family Court of Australia
  • 16. Youth justice and child protection interface
  • 17. Interstate matters
• Appendices
  • Appendix A: Acronyms
  • Appendix B: Glossary
• Practice papers
• Quicklinks
  • Previous versions
  • Printable version
  • Resources
  • Updates

1. Intake

• 1.1 Intake: An overview
• 1.2 Notifiers
• 1.3 Gathering information from the notifier
• 1.4 Harm or risk of harm to a child by a person living outside the home
• 1.5 Departmental history checks
• 1.6 Pre-notification checks
• 1.7 Completing the screening criteria and response priority tools
• 1.8 Responding to a child concern report
• 1.9 Recording a notification
• 1.10 Recording additional concerns prior to the approval of a notification
• 1.11 Providing feedback to notifiers from government and non-government agencies
• 1.12 Vexatious and malicious notifiers
• 1.13 Moving a child to a safe place - section 21
• 1.14 Recording sensitive clients
• 1.15 Downgrading or deleting an approved notification

1.12 Vexatious and malicious notifiers

Purpose

This procedure outlines the process for responding to vexatious or malicious notifiers.

Definitions

Vexatious notifier: a person who contacts the department repeatedly with concerns about a child that are without grounds.

Malicious notifier: a person whose ulterior motive for contacting the department is ill will towards another person.

In both circumstances concern about the best interests of the child is not the reason for the notifier's actions.

Identifying a vexatious or malicious notifier

In some circumstances the department may become aware that a notifier is acting in a vexatious or malicious manner and/or has previously provided false information which was recorded as a notification. This includes situations where a number of previous investigation and assessments have been unsubstantiated and the same notifier continues to contact the department with similar concerns, which appear to meet the threshold for a notification.

Where it is assessed by a CSO that a notifier has previously provided information that is without substance, the CSO may determine that there is no reasonable suspicion that a child is in need of protection. In this circumstance, one of the requirements necessary to invoke the provisions of the Child Protection Act 1999, section 14, would not be satisfied and the department would not have the mandate to undertake a further investigation and assessment. In these circumstances, the use of a pre-notification check may assist the decision-making process.

	Pre-notification checks (1.6)

In practice, the decision not to record a further notification should be taken cautiously, because while a notifier may be acting in a malicious manner, the substance of the allegation of harm might still be valid.

Review of the case

When concerns are received from a notifier that reach the threshold for a notification and appear to be vexatious or malicious and one or more prior investigation and assessments have been completed in relation to similar concerns, the team leader will consider instigating a review of the case by the senior practitioner.

In reviewing the case, the senior practitioner must ensure that the completed investigation and assessments are comprehensive and holistic, and that they include verified information about the child and the concerns from reliable sources, for example, a school or a doctor. Where the child is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, consideration will be given to contacting the recognised entity for the child, in relation to the review.

If the senior practitioner is satisfied that a further investigation and assessment should not be undertaken, the outcome of the investigation and assessment is recorded as 'no investigation and assessment outcome' and the rationale for this decision is clearly recorded. The CSSC manager must 'approve' the investigation and assessment.

In rare circumstances, consideration may be given to recording a child concern report or notification with the notifier listed as the alleged person responsible for the harm to the child.
The decision to do this would be based on an assessment that:

• the child is being emotionally harmed or at risk of harm due to the continued (and unnecessary) intervention, including:
  • repeated need for involvement in interviews;
  • repeated medical assessments; and
  • being taken out of school to participate in interviews; or
• the child is being emotionally harmed or is at risk of harm due to the notifier's contact with the child (for example, where a parent or carer is providing the child with false information about the other parent and/or the department, which is assessed as harmful to the child).

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Responding to a vexatious or malicious notifier

Where it is considered appropriate, the CSSC manager may send a letter to the notifier, advising that no further notifications will be recorded in relation to similar child protection concerns, based on the review of the case and outcomes of the previous investigations and assessments.

In circumstances where the notifier is a parent or carer of the child, the letter may also advise that if the notifier continues to contact the department, consideration will be given to recording a child concern report or notification with the notifier recorded as the alleged person responsible for emotional harm to the child.

The team leader will respond to any further contact from the notifier. If the notifier's motive for making a further call is to lodge a complaint about the process, the team leader will document the call in a case note and refer the complaint to the CSSC manager. If the notifier believes the matter cannot be resolved impartially at the CSSC level they may, at any time, refer the matter to the zonal client relations officer, or the Central Complaints and Review Unit. Notifiers can also contact external agencies such as, the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian, the Ombudsman and the Crime and Misconduct Commission.

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