There may be situations where a child’s status has been recorded as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander in CRIS and it appears this status may be inaccurate.
The procedures outlined below, referred to as de-identification, must be followed if consideration is being given to changing a child’s status from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin to neither Aboriginal nor Torres Strait Islander in the intake phase. Any other change in the ‘Indigenous status’ field in CRIS can occur without following these procedures.
For additional information refer to advice, Changing the status of a child from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander - advice and De-identification during intake phase only - flow chart.
Case practitioner tasks
When the child’s status is recorded in error
The following tasks need to be completed if a child’s Indigenous status is recorded as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander in error, and the status needs to change to neither Aboriginal nor Torres Strait Islander.
- Change the child’s Indigenous status in CRIS.
- Record the rationale for the change in CRIS using the case note subject ‘De-identification of child as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander’, outlining the reason/s why de-identification is necessary.
When the reporter believes the child is Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander but is not certain
The following tasks need to be completed if the reporter believes the child is of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin, but is not certain.
- Record the child’s status in CRIS based on reporter’s belief.
- Consult ACSASS and discuss the child’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status.
- If ACSASS confirms the child is of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin or accepts the status based on the reporter’s belief, retain existing status, and consult about intake as usual. Make a case note in CRIS recording the consultation.
- If ACSASS questions whether the child is of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin, change the status to ‘under assessment’. Make a case note in CRIS recording the consultation.
When new information is obtained in the intake phase that suggests the child is neither Aboriginal nor Torres Strait Islander
- Record the new information suggesting the child is neither Aboriginal nor Torres Strait Islander in a case note.
- Consult ACSASS
- If de-identification is supported by ACSASS :
- Request an email from ACSASS supporting the decision to de-identify the child.
- Change the child’s status to neither Aboriginal nor Torres Strait Islander in CRIS.
- Record the change in CRIS using the case note subject ‘De-identification of a child as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander’. Attach the email from ACSASS supporting de-identification of the child.
- If de-identification is not supported by ACSASS:
- Record the consultation as a case note in CRIS and outline the reasons why ACSASS do not support de-identification of the child. Do not change the child’s Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status.
- If ACSASS is uncertain about whether to support de-identification or not:
- Record the consultation with ACSASS as a case note in CRIS, including the reasons for ACSASS being uncertain about the child’s Aboriginality.
- Change the child’s Indigenous status from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status to ‘under assessment’.
If the report is classified as a protective intervention report, the child’s Aboriginality will be re-considered during the investigation phase.
Supervisor tasks
- Provide ongoing supervision and consultation about whether a child’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status should be changed.
Team manager tasks
- Provide ongoing supervision and consultation about whether a child’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status should be changed.
- Endorse key decisions including whether a child’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander should be changed.
- Changing the status of a child from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander - advice
- Identifying Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children - information sheets
- Responding to Aboriginal children - advice
- Receiving and processing reports - advice
- Human rights and child protection- advice
- De-identification process during intake phase only - flow chart
- De-identification process during investigation, protective intervention, protection order or closure phase - flow chart