Male hand leading child, trust family concept

The ability to effectively, diligently and professionally investigate allegations or complaints relating to the abuse of vulnerable people in care is essential for the education, health, human services, disability and care sector.

Participants of this course will gain an understanding of the complaints and investigation process relevant to those investigating or managing investigators of reportable conduct matters affecting children, elderly people or people with a disability. The program includes end-to-end investigations process, and is tailored to focus on the regulatory scheme or environment of your choice:

  • Child safety standards
  • Reportable conduct scheme in your state or across multiple states
  • NDIS reportable incidents
  • Aged Care Quality incidents
  • Client Incident Management System incident investigations
  • or any combination of the above. Note that courses covering a wider remit may require more than 2 days. 

The course is suitable for new investigators or those with more experience, and offers a trauma-informed lens on investigations with significant focus on developing the skills to safely and sensitively interview vulnerable people, children and respondents.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the short course, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the applicable regulatory scheme(s) and their obligations under it
  • Apply definitions, standards and thresholds for the relevant schemes
  • Follow incident /complaint reporting and documentation procedures
  • Explain the role of an investigation within their legal and policy framework
  • Uphold procedural fairness
  • Manage investigation risks associated with confidentiality, support people, and evidence-gathering
  • Recognise and respond to risks associated with bias and conflict of interest
  • Review complaints or notifications to identify issues for investigation
  • Balance formal criteria, investigation principles and trauma-informed principles for procedural decision-making
  • Scope and plan investigations and communications in collaboration with others
  • Conduct trauma-informed interviews with diverse parties (as relevant to the regulatory scheme(s))
  • Identify and gather a range of sources of evidence including digital formats
  • Maintain investigation running sheets and logs
  • Draft letters and communication tools for parties
  • Evaluate evidence and draw findings
  • Report on process, evidence, analysis and findings, in accordance with regulatory requirements, investigation principles and trauma-informed principles
  • Engage with stakeholders, including regulators, to improve regulatory compliance and outcomes
  • Meet regulatory requirements including timelines, quality and practice standards

Course Overview

Duration: Two days 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM AEDT

Delivery Mode: In person or virtual workshop

 

Course Fees

Public classes: This course is recommended for private classes due to the broad variation in regulatory obligations of different organisations. However, you can write to us to express interest in a public cohort.

Private classes: $4,410 per day (class sizes from 4-22 learners).

Learners who enrol in our nationally accredited PSP40416 Certificate IV in Government Investigations within six months of completing this two-day course receive a (maximum) 25% discount, and may qualify for recognition of prior learning and/or credit towards the certificate. Learners wishing to take up this opportunity are advised to retain records of their attendance and their activities completed during the class.

Course Entry Requirements

  • Must be 18 or more years old
  • Must have obtained an academic level of Year 12 or above or equivalent
  • Must meet course prerequisites and the requirements of our enrolment process

Training dates

For a private course for 4 or more learners, please contact us directly to arrange any training dates, content, delivery location at your convenience.

If you want to undertake this course but don’t have 4 or more learners, please contact us to express your interest. We will notify you once there are enough interested learners to run a public cohort.

An important note: during 2024, all public courses will be delivered online using Zoom

More information

Contact us for more information about Investigating Abuse in Care.