Student Attendance and Engagement team

How to report truancy

You can report truancy to help protect the welfare of both the child and the community.

Reporting aims to ensure the child’s safety and address any issues affecting the community.

The best way to report truancy depends on the situation, with different options available based on the circumstances.

A child or anyone is in immediate danger

In a life is threatening situation or if someone is seriously injured you should call 000, find our more about when to call 000.

If property has been or is about to be damaged

If a crime is actively taking place, you can call 000.

If your property or business was damaged or broken into you should report the crime to police.

Child welfare concerns

If you are concerned for a child's welfare or you suspect a child might be experiencing neglect or abuse, you must report it.

Find out how to report child abuse.

Children skipping or wagging school

If you know which school the child attends, contact the school directly. School uniforms often give an indication of the school the child is from.

You may need to do this if you notice children leaving school grounds or groups of children regularly hanging out in hotspots like shopping centres, bus terminals or parks during school hours.

The school is in the best position to identify the child, reach out to parents or carers and involve the appropriate authorities if needed. You will need to be able to provide some details to the school like:

• time of day
• location
• general description of children
• names if known.