CDP recognises that child abuse can take a number of forms: children can be abused sexually but also physically and psychologically.

CDP encourages reporting of child abusers by anyone who has reasonable grounds for doing so, especially by people engaged in children services such as health care, education, carers, refuge workers and police.

CDP believes that an effective child protection policy requires coordination at the national level.

CDP supports the concept of a national register of convicted offenders to facilitate monitoring by law enforcement authorities.

More training should be given to people involved in children’s services to facilitate the early detection of abuse.Training about the consequences of long term child abuse should also be available to teachers and court officials to make them more aware of the high priority that should be accorded to prevention, prohibition rehabilitation and victim compensation.

The root causes of child abuse need to be acknowledged and homelessness, mental health, alcohol and drugs are contributing factors that require urgent attention.Coordination between health, welfare and related community services is essential.

CDP acknowledges that child abuse  often (but far from exclusively) occurs in family types not structured on traditional marriage . CDP therefore supports programs that highlight the social utility of marriage between a man and a woman, for life, and to the exclusion of all others.

Child offenders are overrepresented in Aboriginal communities and it is essential that policies recognising the cultural sensitivities of these communities be implemented.

Recommendations made by the Gordon Inquiry that have not yet been implemented should be acted upon.

Sentences should reflect the severity and frequency of the perpetrated abuse.

Parole should not be available to repeat offenders. Parole should only be granted if the perpetrator has successfully completed a rehabilitation course, has not broken previous parole conditions and the perpetrator is no longer considered at risk of re-offending.

Child abusers who are not Australian citizens should be deported to serve their sentence in their country of origin where bilateral agreements allow for it.

More research should be carried out into the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs; government grants should also be available to organisations that provide services to child offenders’ victims.

CDP does not accept that the use of reasonable physical discipline by parents or others acting on behalf of parents (e.g. school teachers) is a form of child abuse.

CDP opposes any legislative proposal to criminalise reasonable use of discipline.