MAKE A REPORT
Report Your Concerns
If you are concerned that a child may be experiencing abuse, neglect, or is otherwise at risk of harm, you should report your concerns to the appropriate authorities within your state or territory. In any situation where a child is in immediate danger or requires urgent assistance, contact emergency services immediately by calling 000.
For matters relating to child safety in Victoria, reports can be made to Child Protection on 13 12 78.
The unseen forms of abuse
Mental Abuse doesn’t leave marks, but it
changes a child forever.
Emotional Abuse
Often unseen but deeply felt, emotional abuse wounds a child’s core feelings long before any visible signs appear.
Psychological Abuse
Is a slow rewriting of truth that shapes how a child thinks, about themselves, their self-worth, and their reality.
Coercive Parenting
Abuse disguised as care, the tightening grip of fear, guilt, and dependency masked by concern or protection.
Parental Alienation
The silent manipulation of a child’s relationships with the other parent, creating loyalty conflicts and emotional confusion.
Neglect
An act of omission , the failure of a caregiver to provide the necessary basic needs, affecting a child’s development and sense of security.
Toxic Parenting
It often appears as care, but undermines a child’s confidence, independence, and emotional wellbeing with long-term effects and far-reaching harm.
2023 Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS).
Mental abuse is strongly linked to major depressive and
anxiety disorders, substance dependence,
self-harm, and suicide attempts.
In 2023-24, 57% of Australian children with substantiated maltreatment had mental abuse
recorded as the primary type of abuse (AIHW).
