The Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Act 2025 (CYPSS Act) places a focus on whole‑of‑government and community responses to children and young people, and their families, with a public health approach enshrined.
On this page
Supporting the sector
The CYPSS Act strengthens how we work together by focusing on three key areas:
- Collaboration: Strengthens expectations for collaboration across the child protection and family support system.
- Shared responsibility: Supports shared responsibility for prevention, early intervention and response.
- Partnership: Formally recognising the sector and peak bodies as essential partners in delivering outcomes for children and young people.
New guiding principles
The CYPSS Act introduces a set of guiding principles that apply to decision‑making across South Australia’s child protection and family support system.
Who they apply to
Per Section 8, once commenced, these principles are a mandatory requirement for every person or body involved in the administration, operation, or enforcement of this Act. These principles apply system-wide across the entire child protection and family support system.
The four core principles
Click to expand each section for details:
Decision making must ensure that children and young people are safe and protected from harm. Note: Under section 87(1) (removal), the safety principle must always be the priority.
All decisions must be made in the best interests of the child or young person.
Includes requirements to find and contact family, kin, and community.
Ensuring interventions are timely, appropriate, and achieve positive outcomes.
Understanding the principles
The CYPSS Act does not prescribe a set formula for application; the principles must be considered as a whole. These are not optional; they are mandatory requirements within the new CYPSS Act and carry significant legislative weight.
Additional principles for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and young people
The CYPSS Act recognises that the best interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people, and their families are realised when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle is implemented to the standard of active efforts, for each of the five elements.
A number of additional considerations relating to reunification apply for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. These includes making active efforts to explore ways to reunify children with their parents, or place children within their own family or community.
Section 51 legislates the principle of family-led decision making, ensuring decisions are made in culturally safe and respectful ways.
This enables culturally based, family-driven decisions making which promotes self-determination and ensures families are supported to make informed choices in the best interests of their children.
Expanding best interest considerations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people:
- requires compliance with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle
- acknowledges different child rearing practices
- emphasises the need for strong cultural identity and connection
- reinforces the need for safety and support to build and express cultural, spiritual and other belief systems
- ensures children and young people have an environment in which they are supported by a carer who respects their cultural identity and nurtures their sense of self and identity in respect to their family, community, culture and Country.
State Strategy and the public health approach
| The state strategy (Part 5) | Safety and support plans |
|---|---|
A central feature of the CYPSS Act which drives the public health approach. Directs shared effort to:
supporting children and young people in care, leaving care or who have left care. | Targeted planning at a system and service level prepared by key agencies. |
The strategy must:
| These plans will:
|
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Focus:
Each part of the State Strategy must specifically address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, strengthening accountability for achieving the best possible outcomes.
Partnerships and accountability
- Peak bodies as representatives of their sector interests and needs
- The importance of shared responsibility between government and non‑government partners
- The need to reduce duplication and improve coordination across services.
- Clearer roles and responsibilities across the system
- Enhanced annual reporting requirements
- Public reporting against the State Strategy
- Additional information required from DCP before Court decisions are finalised
- More transparency around feedback and complaints processes.
Changes to mandatory notifications
Legal Notice: The Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Act 2025 (CYPSS Act) has not yet commenced. Until the CYPSS Act comes into operation, all mandated reporters must continue to meet their obligations under the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 (CYPS Act) and follow existing reporting processes.
What to do right now
Your mandatory reporting obligations have not changed.
If you are concerned about a child or young person and have a reasonable suspicion that they are, or may be, at risk of harm, you must report this concern.
- Call the Child Abuse Report Line (CARL): 13 14 78
- CARL operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- In an emergency, call 000 immediately.
Continue to follow your organisation’s existing policies and procedures.
The CYPSS Act introduces changes to South Australia’s mandatory reporting requirements. These changes will not apply until the CYPSS Act commences. Before commencement:
- further work will be undertaken with partners and the sector
- clear guidance, training and resources will be developed
- mandated reporters will be supported to understand any changes.
Changes from current legislation to the CYPSS Act includes provisions that relate to:
- increasing the mandatory reporting threshold from ‘harm’ to ‘significant harm’
- recognising children and young people’s exposure to domestic and family violence
- reducing duplicate reporting where concerns have already been reported.
Further information about these changes, including what they mean in practice for mandated reporters, will be provided closer to commencement.