When police attend a domestic and family violence incident and children are present, then the attending police officer(s) will use their professional judgement to make an assessment to determine whether the child or young person is at ‘risk of significant harm’ and requires an immediate report to the Department of Communities & Justice Child Protection Helpline.
All police officers have a legal responsibility under section24 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 to report children at risk of significant harm as outlined in section 23 of the Act.