Glossary - Child safety services

Glossaries, Table notes and Resources

Definitions of terms used on the Our Performance website can be found here Glossary | Child Safety Practice Manual.

Further definitions not contained in the glossary link are listed below.

Term	Details
Harm report substantiation	The outcome of a harm report investigation and assessment where it is assessed that the child or young person has experienced abuse and/or there is unacceptable risk of future abuse.
Living away from home	The provision of care outside the home to children who are in need of protection or who require a safe placement while their protection and safety needs are assessed. Living away from home refers to children in foster care, kinship care and residential care services as well as other locations such as hospitals, boarding schools, Queensland youth detention centres, independent living as at midnight on the reference day.
Mandatory notifiers	Under legislation there are groups of people and professionals who are required to report child protection concerns. These include: medical practitioners and registered nurses approved teachers authorised officers or employees of the department police officers with child protection responsibilities a person performing a child advocate function under the Public Guardian Act 2014 early childhood education and care professionals employees of licensed residential facilities with respect to harm involving children in residential care.
Out-of-home care	The provision of care outside the family home to children who are in need of protection or who require a safe placement while their protection and safety needs are assessed. In accordance with nationally agreed upon reporting definitions, data for out-of-home care refers to children placed with kin, other home-based carers (foster care) or residential care services.

Enhanced Intake and Assessment (From April 2025)

Term	Details
Household intakes	An intake received for a household during the reference period, regardless of how many children are involved. For example, if an intake relates to three children, it is counted as one household intake. If a household has multiple intakes during the reference period (for the same or new concerns) each report is counted as a separate household intake.
Household intakes screened as a child concern report	An intake received for a household during the reference period that was screened as a child concern report, regardless of the number of children involved. For example, if a child concern report relates to three children, it is counted as one household intake screened as a child concern report. If a household has multiple intakes during the reference period (for the same or new concerns) each household intake is counted separately.
Household intakes screened as a notification	An intake received for a household during the reference period that was screened as a notification, regardless of the number of children involved. For example, if a notification relates to three children, it is counted as one household intake screened as a notification. If a household has multiple intakes during the reference period (for the same or new concerns) each household intake is counted separately.
Priority response	A priority response is a response to a notification that is undertaken by an authorised officer. It includes an assessment of a child’s need for protection. Outcomes include: Child in need of protection Child not in need of protection Ongoing intervention continues No assessment outcome
Standard response	A standard response is a response to a notification that is undertaken by an authorised officer. It includes an assessment of a child’s immediate safety and the family’s support needs. Outcomes include: Assessed and closed Assessed, referred and closed No assessment outcome

Investigation and Assessment (Pre-April 2025 Child Safety practice)

Term	Details
Investigation and assessment	The process of investigating a notification of alleged harm or risk of harm. It involves an investigation of the alleged harm and an assessment of the child's protective and safety needs. An investigation is classified as finalised where it is completed and an assessment outcome recorded and approved. Outcomes include: Substantiated - child in need of protection: where it is assessed that the child or young person has suffered significant harm and/or there is unacceptable risk of significant harm and there is no parent able and willing to protect the child. Substantiated - child not in need of protection: where it is assessed that the child or young person has suffered significant harm, but there is no unacceptable risk of significant harm as the child has a parent able and willing to protect them. Unsubstantiated: where it is assessed that there is no evidence that the child has experienced significant harm and there is no unacceptable risk of significant harm. No subject child: where it is determined the child does not exist or was found not to be a member of the household being investigated. Other: a full investigation for a child was not possible for a variety of valid reasons, and the case was closed. For example, this may occur in circumstances where the family has relocated to another state or overseas, or insufficient information is provided and the family cannot be located, despite all reasonable steps having been undertaken to identify the family and their location.
Investigation not yet finalised	A notification where the investigation was still in progress, the investigation was completed but the outcome was not yet recorded on the central system, or the investigation was completed and entered on the central system but yet to be approved.
Resubstantiation	Resubstantiation is measured by counting the number of children subject to a substantiation within a financial year who were subsequently the subject of a further substantiation within the following three or 12 months of the initial substantiation.