This data element records the date the assessment decision was made by the departmental worker about the course of action to be taken (i.e. the level of intervention the department should provide) in response to a child protection notification.

This data element should always be recorded as an 8-digit valid date comprising day, month and year. Year should always be recorded in its full 4-digit format. For day and months with a numeric value of less than 10, zeros should be used to ensure that the date contains the required 8 digits. For example, if the notification assessment decision was made on 1 July 2004, the date should be recorded as 01072004.

When an estimate is required, all known fields should be entered (e.g. if year and month are known use 01MMYYYY; if the exact date is unknown but the reporting period to which it relates can be determined, use 0107YYYY).

If the date is not known and can’t be estimated, record 01011900.

If it is not applicable to record a date (i.e. the assessment decision has not been made), record 01019999.

This can be used to measure the length of time between when the decision regarding the level of involvement of the department was made and the commencement of the investigation.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2013. Child protection national minimum data set, data collection manual 2012-13. Canberra: AIHW.