At the end of the Guide to the NQF, you can find a detailed glossary with key terms used in the Guide.
Here’s a list of frequently used terms in this module:
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| ACECQA | Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority |
| NQS | National Quality Standard |
| NQF | National Quality Framework |
| CP | Child Protection |
| Abuse | is the intentional infliction of harm, whether it is physical, emotional or sexual harm, and involves deliberate acts. |
| Neglect | is the failure to protect or provide for a child's needs, either intentionally or through negligence. |
| AIHW | Australian Institute of Health and Welfare |
| WHO | World Health Organisation |
| Physical Abuse | Physical abuse is an intentional injury to a child. It does not always leave visible marks or injuries. |
| Sexual Abuse | Sexual abuse involves using power, authority, manipulation, physical force or coercion to engage a minor in a sexual act. A minor is anyone under the age of 18. |
| Grooming | Grooming is the process whereby an abuser manipulates a child into sexual activities. |
| Psychological and Emotional Abuse | All forms of abuse have an emotional and psychological impact. However, some forms of abuse use emotions and psychological ‘bullying’ as the primary means of abuse. |
| Neglect | Neglect refers to a child not being provided with the basic survival needs. This can be either out of choice or because of hardship. |
| Intergenerational Trauma | In Australia, intergenerational trauma predominantly affects the children, grandchildren and future generations of the Stolen Generations. Stolen Generations survivors might also pass on the impacts of institutionalisation, finding it difficult to know how to nurture their children because they were denied the opportunity to be nurtured themselves. |
| Observation Skills | Observation skills are the foundation for identifying signs that a child or young person is at risk or has been harmed. Look for any obvious physical signs of injury or neglect, for example, bruises, burns, cuts and other injuries; and torn, dirty or inadequate clothing. Remember that not all physical injuries are visible, so also look for signs of pain, for example, limping, favouring one side or part of the body, or flinching when a painful area is touched. |
| Questioning Skills | Asking questions – including asking open-ended questions, following up with probing or checking for more information, and allowing the child to tell their story in their own time – is one of the main methods of gathering more information on an issue. Using active listening and demonstrating empathy is also important in establishing trust and helping children feel listened to. |
| Physical Damage | This may be relatively minor, such as bruising, or severe, such as broken bones, internal bleeding or deep tissue burns. While physical injuries may heal, the associated emotional and psychological damage may be longer lasting. |
| Developmental Damage | Abuse and neglect can cause brain damage and impair development in domains such as cognitive ability, language and speech. |
| Mental Health | Child abuse and neglect can have lifelong consequences for a person’s mental health. Problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and anxiety and mood disorders (e.g. depression) are common among adolescents who suffered abuse as children. |
| Behavioural Issues | Children who have suffered behavioural abuse often develop ‘challenging’ and aggressive behaviours in childhood and in adolescence, or they become withdrawn and isolated. Anxiety and depression are common, as are self-harming behaviours, eating disorders, and promiscuous and risk-taking behaviours. |
| UN Convention Rights for a Child | Rights-based approaches focus on breaches of rights. In the case of child abuse and neglect, this means the violation of children’s basic human rights. |
| DOCS | Department of Child Services |
| Child Story | NSW Mandatory Reporter Guide |
| Approved Provider | The approved provider is the legal entity that gets the approval for running a service and is legally responsible for managing the service. |
| Negligence | Negligence is another word for carelessness. To be negligent means to fail in your duty of care by acting carelessly and causing harm to others. |
| Mandatory Reporter | The word ‘mandatory’ means that something is authorised, required and made compulsory by law. Child protection legislation identifies certain occupations in which reporting concerns about children at risk of abuse or neglect is mandatory. |
| Ethical Dilemmas | Ethical dilemmas are about deciding the right thing to do in a situation. |
| ECA | Early Childhood Australia |
| Professional Boundaries | A professional boundary is the line between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and emotional attachment in relation to a child (or a child’s family) within or outside your place of work. |
| Child- Focused Practices | Using child-focused practices means working in ways that are ‘child-friendly’, keep the child safe and keep the child as the focus of the work. |
| Trauma- Informed Approach | Trauma-informed approaches provide a framework for human services based on knowledge and understanding of how trauma affects people and their service needs in both the short and long term. |
| Trauma | means- injury |
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