A correspondent from WA is
… studying my degree in paramedicine. Prior to this I was a high school teacher and at the moment I am still registered with the Teachers Registration Board of Western Australia. Part of the responsibilities expected of a teacher is that we are legally obliged to report on any suspected child abuse. However, at the moment, paramedics are under no obligation other than moral to report on suspected or confirmed child abuse.
Hypothetically, if I were to maintain my registration as a teacher, while working within an ambulance and were to witness a situation involving child abuse would I still be legally required to report it, even though I am working within the role of an ambulance paramedic and am in the employ of the service?
The obligation to report suspected child sexual abuse is found in the Children and Community Services Act 2004 (WA) s 124B. That section says (emphasis added):
124B. Duty of certain people to report sexual abuse of children
(1) A person who —
(a) is a doctor, nurse, midwife, police officer, teacher or boarding supervisor; and
(b) believes on reasonable grounds that a child —
(i) has been the subject of sexual abuse that occurred on or after commencement day; or
(ii) is the subject of ongoing sexual abuse;
and
(c) forms the belief —
(i) in the course of the person’s work (whether paid or unpaid) as a doctor, nurse, midwife, police officer, teacher or boarding supervisor; and
(ii) on or after commencement day,
must report the belief as soon as practicable after forming the belief.
It follows that if my correspondent forms the belief that a child has been the subject of sexual abuse but that information only comes to him or her because of the employment as a paramedic, and not ‘in the course of the person’s work … as a … teacher…’ then the obligation imposed by s 124B does not apply.
As for reporting on crimes that are observed whilst working as a paramedic, see:
- Discovering crime during an emergency response (July 19, 2016);
- Paramedics and Patient Confidentiality number 2 (July 23, 2015).
Australian Emergency Law 
I work in Emergency mainly pathology. Paramedics report suspicions any time they think it relavant. Further definitive testing can only be done in the hospital setting as it is outside the scope and skills of paramedicine anyway. Feel free to report it to staff at ED. Everyone else does. The legal teams only want the pathology and witten reports from the hospital anyway. Unless, of course, the abuse was visualised on another person other than the patient.
Surely ethics needs you to inform responsible authority. Your role as a teacher gives you insight. Your new job access to situations you may need to act on. As a doctor if I see child abuse at the yacht club I sail from I need to protect the child NOT worry what role I am in.
Dr F Brown
Sent from my iPhone
I don’t think my correspondent was saying he/she wouldn’t report; but it’s ok to want to know what the law is and whether the mandatory obligation upon a person as a teacher (or doctor) applies in the circumstances. Certainly paramedics can and should report matters (hence my link to the other posts, and see also the latest article by Ruth Townsend and I in the current issue of ‘Response’ but I don’t have the full citation to hand) but it’s still useful to know how that applies to one’s other role.