Child Safety: Awareness and Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Assault and Abuse

On completion of this course, you'll:

• receive a digital microcredential badge recognising your commitment to child safety
• be equipped with the skills to intervene and protect vulnerable children
• gain an understanding of best practice approaches to child protection
• contribute to safer communities through awareness and action.

Dr Cate Thomas

BA RMIHE, GradDip(Public Admn) USyd, MPA USyd, PhD USyd, BSW CSturt, GCLTHE CSturt, SFHEA HEA UK

Dr Cate Thomas is a social policy researcher and educator with extensive experience in health, human services and leadership across academic, government and non-government sectors.

She is passionate about evidence-informed practice in child welfare and has over 23 years of child protection experience with the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (formerly the Department of Child Services) where she developed professional development programs, led research-to-practice initiatives and held senior roles including Manager, Research to Practice. She has also worked as a private social policy consultant, undertaking projects such as designing childcare models, and has delivered keynote addresses across academic and professional forums.

Cate completed her PhD at the University of Sydney in 2011 on how research can be effectively translated into child welfare practice. For this work, she received the NSW Premier’s Silver Award in 2008. Cate is committed to building safe, inclusive communities through education and lifelong learning.

"In my past life I was a police officer and an RSPCA inspector, so I have had some dealings with a variety of child safety issues. Overall, the course was a great refresher – thank you." - CSU Student.

“I just wanted to thank you for the child protection module. It was the best compulsory training I’ve done in 17 years. It was not only informative and engaging but done sensitively and in a way that helped me process my emotions and triggers.” - CSU staff member