General News
31 May, 2025
Inquiry targets out-of-home care
A COMMISSION of Inquiry into Child Safety will investigate Queensland’s out-of-home care system, and its links to the growth of serious repeat offenders.
Announcing the commission recently, which will be led by Paul Anastassiou KC, the government said more than 100 of the state’s most serious young criminals - along with other young offenders on supervised youth justice orders – were living in Queensland’s out-of-home care system.
The latest data from September 2024 showed there were 388 serious repeat offenders (SROs) aged between 10 and 17 in Queensland, with 111 of those subject to a child protection order.
A more detailed breakdown of SROs out-of-home cares’ current living arrangements found five in kinship care; 25 in residential care, 79 in other living arrangements which included hospital, detention centres, boarding schools, supported independent living and all other locations; two living at home; and none living in foster care.
The connection between SROs and other vulnerable children in out-of-home care will be investigated, with figures finding 55 per cent of all youth crime in Queensland was committed by serious repeat youth offenders.
There were also 222 children under strict supervised youth justice orders living in the out-of-home care system.
According to the 2024 Census, details of children in out-of-home care on supervised youth justice orders found:
• 67% have been in care for longer than five years
• 77% of them have had more than four placements
• 72% have been excluded or suspended from school
• 56% have self-harmed
• 40% have attempted suicide
• 70% have a diagnosed or suspected disability
The Commission of Inquiry will look at whether the current system is fully equipped to properly deal with high-risk children and how their time in care has played a part in their criminality.
Its terms of reference include:
• Reforming the Residential Care System: investigate models of care and the factors contributing to the growth and reliance on a billion-dollar residential care sector.
• Repairing a broken system: reviewing the effectiveness of Queensland’s child safety system to keep children safe.
• Safer Children: failures both systemic and policy that have impeded the ability of the Department responsible for the Child Safety portfolio (the Department) to provide support to families and protection to children at risk of harm in Queensland.
• Safer Communities: evaluate the effectiveness of the Department as a corporate parent and whether it is able to meet community expectations around parenting.
• Delivery Failures: prosecute failures of Government and elected Ministers to implement policy to keep Queensland children and the community safe.
• Legislative Reform: reviewing Queensland legislation about the protection of children, including the Child Protection Act 1999 and Adoption Act 2009.
