Religious ministers will face criminal charges if they fail to report child abuse, including when disclosed during confession, the Victorian government has pledged.
Under current laws, priests and religious leaders are exempt from mandatory reporting, however the state government on Friday said if re-elected in November it would overturn this.
From next month, mandatory reporting laws will also be expanded to include registered psychologists, school counsellors, youth justice workers, early childhood and out-of-home carers.
"There is no excuse for anyone who works with kids to not report abuse," Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos said.
The government's promise to amend the Children, Youth and Families Act comes in the wake of recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, that laws concerning mandatory reporting to child protection authorities be expanded.
Current laws require teachers, school principals, doctors, nurses and police officers who believe a child is being abused to report or face criminal charges.
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