Can i smack my child in australia

The law is different in each state and territory. Please select your state or territory to view legal information that applies to you. Child abuse. For free and confidential legal advice about this topic, please contact us here. Child abuse is against the law.

You have the right to be safe from all types of abuse and neglect, both at home, at school and in the community. You do not have to put up with child abuse. It is OK to complain and to talk to someone and get help. We explain who you can talk to below. If you are in immediate danger of being hurt or abused, please call the police on and if you can, try to go to a secure place like to a trusted family friend, your school, a police station, or a medical centre.

Navigate this page. Share this article. Date Published May 28, Conclusion and further reading. Conclusion and further reading The acceptability, consequences and legality of using physical punishment towards children are dependent on the context in which the physical punishment takes place. References Afifi, T. Associations of harsh physical punishment and child maltreatment in childhood with antisocial behaviors in adulthood.

Afifi, T. Physical punishment and mental disorders: Results from a nationally representative US sample. Pediatrics , 2 , The relationships between harsh physical punishment and child maltreatment in childhood and intimate partner violence in adulthood.

BMC Public Health , 17 1 , Alampay, L. Severity and justness do not moderate the relation between corporal punishment and negative child outcomes: A multicultural and longitudinal study. International Journal of Behavioral Development , 41 4 , Committee on the Rights of the Child List of issues in relation to the combined fifth and sixth reports of Australia. Retrieved from www. National law. Twenty-five years of physical punishment research: What have we learned?

Durrant, J. Addressing punitive violence against children in Australia, Japan and the Philippines. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology , 14 , e19, Flouri, E. Environmental adversity and children's early trajectories of problem behavior: The role of harsh parental discipline.

Journal of Family Psychology , 31 2 , Gershoff, E. Should parents' physical punishment of children be considered a source of toxic stress that affects brain development? Family Relations , 65 1 , The strength of causal evidence against physical punishment of children and its implications for parents, psychologists, and policymakers. American Psychologist , 73 5 , Spanking and child outcomes: Old controversies and new meta-analyses. Family Psychology , 30 4 , Heekes, S.

A systematic review of corporal punishment in schools: Global prevalence and correlates. Longitudinal associations of neighborhood collective efficacy and maternal corporal punishment with behavior problems in early childhood. Developmental Psychology , 53 6 , MacKenzie, M. Spanking and children's externalizing behavior across the first decade of life: Evidence for transactional processes. Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 44 3 , Maneta, E.

Parent-child aggression, adult-partner violence, and child outcomes: A prospective, population-based study. Okuzono, S. Spanking and subsequent behavioral problems in toddlers: A propensity score-matched, prospective study in Japan.

Predicting externalizing and prosocial behaviors in children from parental use of corporal punishment. Infant and Child Development , 26 4 , Poulsen A. The role of corporal punishment of children in the perpetuation of intimate partner violence in Australia.

Children Australia , 43 , Poulsen, A. Corporal punishment of children in the home in Australia: A review of the research reveals the need for data and knowledge. Children Australia , 44 3 , Relationships Australia. Online survey: Corporal punishment. Child behaviour: How are Australian parents responding.

The International Journal of Children's Rights , 25 1 , Hidden in plain sight: A statistical analysis of violence against children. New York: The United Nations. General comment no. Retrieved from tbinternet. Back to top. Further reading Effects of child abuse and neglect for children and adolescents. Short article— Jun A guide to the various child safety screening programs in each Australian state and territory.

Child safe organisations: Information for organisations on how to keep children safe. Short article— Nov Publication details. Publication meta Copyright information. CFCA social media. Legislation in the ACT does not explicitly refer to physical punishment by parents.

On the basis of the Criminal Code Act s 11 and s 27 , it is lawful for parents to apply force to a child for the purposes of discipline and correction, provided the force is not 'unnecessary' and is not likely to cause serious harm. Criminal Code Act 9 of s The Criminal Code Act s states: 'It is lawful for a parent or a person in the place of a parent, or for a schoolteacher or master, to use, by way of correction, discipline, management or control, towards a child or pupil, under the person's care such force as is reasonable under the circumstances.

Legislation in South Australia does not explicitly refer to physical punishment by parents. In all of these times my options were very limited and I had to choose the option of least harm. Do not criminalize parents on the advice of so called experts. The same experts whose advice on parenting seems to have had the consequences of a generation of young children with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

Leave a comment. Watch: Do you smack your kids? Belinda Jepsen. Senior Features Writer. Listen Now. This Glorious Mess. Is smacking an effective form of discipline?

Sure, but what if smacking is still the only thing that works? Tags: parenting-2 the-quicky.