Regulatory Alert
Victoria’s New Sexual Conduct Notification Covers Conduct Outside the Service
From 12 August 2026 Victorian providers must notify VECRA within 24 hours of becoming aware of sexual conduct by a worker, including conduct that occurred outside the service.
By Oiva Compliance Intelligence Team · 14 October 2026
Key takeaways
- From 12 August 2026, Victorian approved providers must notify VECRA within 24 hours of becoming aware of sexual conduct committed against, with, or in the presence of a child by anyone working in or for their service.
- The notification captures conduct anywhere, including outside the service: a weekend, a shop, a park, a restaurant.
- Two clocks run at once: VECRA within 24 hours, and the Social Services Regulator within three business days under the Reportable Conduct Scheme. VECRA advises notifying both at the same time.
- The clock runs from awareness, not from confirmation. A 24 hour period that starts on a Friday evening does not pause for the weekend.
Important: This article summarises Victorian requirements. Notification obligations differ by jurisdiction and by circumstance. Confirm your obligations with VECRA and your regulatory authority, and seek advice for any specific incident.
A new notification type commenced in Victoria on 12 August 2026, and it extends further than most providers expect.
The obligation
Approved providers must notify VECRA within 24 hours of becoming aware of any sexual conduct committed against, with, or in the presence of a child by anyone working in or for their service. That includes staff members and volunteers.
The significant change is location. The notification is not limited to conduct at the service. It captures conduct occurring anywhere, including on a weekend, at a shop, in a park or at a restaurant.
Reportable sexual conduct includes sexual offences and sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct can include behaviour, physical contact or communication of a sexual nature, inappropriate touching, grooming behaviour and voyeurism.
Two clocks, running at once
Existing obligations do not change. Providers must still notify the Social Services Regulator under Victoria’s Reportable Conduct Scheme, and must still notify VECRA where conduct occurs within a service.
The new type adds a further pathway with a tighter deadline:
- VECRA: within 24 hours of becoming aware
- Social Services Regulator: within three business days of becoming aware of the allegation
VECRA’s own guidance is to notify both at the same time, within 24 hours. That advice is worth following, because a single trigger with two different deadlines is exactly the kind of process that fails under pressure.
NQF providers notify VECRA online through the National Quality Agenda IT System. The notification type became available in NQA ITS on 12 August 2026.
What about other states?
No other jurisdiction currently has an equivalent of Victoria’s 24 hour notification covering conduct outside the service, but related schemes are tightening nationally. Queensland’s Reportable Conduct Scheme commenced on 1 July 2026, requiring organisations to notify the Queensland Family and Child Commission within three business days of a reportable allegation, which includes child sexual offences and sexual misconduct. New South Wales operates its established scheme with a seven business day notification to the Office of the Children’s Guardian. Multi-state providers should treat notification timeframes as jurisdiction-specific and map them service by service.
What to do
- update the notification procedure to include the new type, with both deadlines stated
- name who can make the notification, and a backup for weekends and leave. A 24 hour clock that starts on a Friday evening does not pause
- make sure the people who might first hear about conduct outside the service, usually room leaders and colleagues, know it is reportable
- record the time you became aware, not just the time you notified. The clock runs from awareness
- brief the team that outside of work is not a filter
The uncomfortable part
Most services have a mental model where the obligation attaches to something that happened on the premises. This provision breaks that model deliberately. A disclosure made in a staff room about something that happened on a Saturday is now a 24 hour notification.
This is the same discipline the 2026 child safety reforms demand everywhere else: the obligation, the action and the evidence of what you did need to be connected, because the timeline will be examined afterwards.
Sources
- VECRA, New requirements from 12 August (vecra.vic.gov.au)
- VECRA, When to notify us (vecra.vic.gov.au)
- Queensland Family and Child Commission, Reportable Conduct Scheme (qfcc.qld.gov.au)
- Victorian Reportable Conduct Scheme, Social Services Regulator (vic.gov.au)
- ACECQA, Notification types and timeframes (acecqa.gov.au)
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This article provides general information for Australian ECEC services and approved providers. It does not constitute legal, regulatory or professional advice. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, service type and individual circumstances. Providers should confirm their obligations with ACECQA, their state or territory regulatory authority and qualified professional advisers.