Latest news with #AmandaCamm
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Queensland's child safety system is ‘broken'. This body is tasked with fixing it
Queensland is burdened with a 'broken child safety system' that needs fundamental changes to prevent further harm to children. That's according to minister Amanda Camm, who spoke as a $20 million Commission of Inquiry into the Child Safety System kicked off in Brisbane on Wednesday morning. The inquiry, which is expected to run for 17 months and travel across the state, will investigate failures in the institutions and processes that exist to protect young people – particularly those facing abuse or neglect. 'This is the commission of inquiry that Queensland needs,' the minister for child safety and the prevention of domestic and family violence said outside Brisbane Magistrates Court. 'We need to get to the bottom of … this broken child safety system.' Given its wide scope, the commission is set to investigate everything from out-of-home care to safety in childcare centres, following multiple high-profile abuse allegations across the country. Proceedings kicked off in the Roma Street court about 10am on Wednesday. More than 60 people – including public servants, police representatives, journalists, and at least one child with experience in the out-of-home care system – crammed into the level four courtroom as Commissioner Paul Anastassiou KC began.
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
Queensland's child safety system is ‘broken'. This body is tasked with fixing it
Queensland is burdened with a 'broken child safety system' that needs fundamental changes to prevent further harm to children. That's according to minister Amanda Camm, who spoke as a $20 million Commission of Inquiry into the Child Safety System kicked off in Brisbane on Wednesday morning. The inquiry, which is expected to run for 17 months and travel across the state, will investigate failures in the institutions and processes that exist to protect young people – particularly those facing abuse or neglect. 'This is the commission of inquiry that Queensland needs,' the minister for child safety and the prevention of domestic and family violence said outside Brisbane Magistrates Court. 'We need to get to the bottom of … this broken child safety system.' Given its wide scope, the commission is set to investigate everything from out-of-home care to safety in childcare centres, following multiple high-profile abuse allegations across the country. Proceedings kicked off in the Roma Street court about 10am on Wednesday. More than 60 people – including public servants, police representatives, journalists, and at least one child with experience in the out-of-home care system – crammed into the level four courtroom as Commissioner Paul Anastassiou KC began.
Sky News AU
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
'Unacceptable': Queensland government launches emergency audit to find hundreds of children missing from state care
The Queensland government has launched an emergency audit to find hundreds of children missing from the state-sanctioned residential care system. More than 12,000 children are currently in Queensland's residential care system through foster, residential and kinship care programs, but out of this figure 780 children have made the decision to leave state-care and "self-place" in a location unknown to the government. The Crisafulli Liberal National Party government is now working to gather the displaced children's names, ages and locations as fears grow they may be homeless or living in dangerous situations. It is understood when children choose to self-place, they lose access to government-backed support services and case management, making it hard to track their location. Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm said the self-placement of children was "unacceptable", adding it is essential for those missing from the system to be identified. 'Allowing one vulnerable child to self-place in Queensland is unacceptable to me, let alone 780 young people. That's why I have ordered a full audit of the kids in care who are self-placing, what support they are receiving and where they are,' she said. 'It is vital we have an understanding of how we can better support these vulnerable children to get their lives back on track and if they have a youth justice crossover.' Ms Camm said a "clear system failure" was behind the state's growing number of unlicensed operators in residential care who are not bound by strict child protection laws, nor monitored or audited by state authorities. Only 36 of the state's 146 residential care providers are licensed, with 110 unlicensed providers largely operating in the for-profit sector and receiving $474.3 million in state government funding. 'The fact the government had nearly no oversight of unlicensed providers, or recourse to ensure they are delivering positive outcomes for vulnerable children is a clear system failure,' Ms Camm said. 'The residential care sector is a billion-dollar industry built on the back of vulnerable children with taxpayers' money. 'It is critical there is oversight and these organisations know that if they do not perform, the government will act. 'It is critical we take the necessary steps to fix issues when they are uncovered to ensure children are being adequately taken care of. 'This Commission of Inquiry is about accountability, both ministerial and departmental. We need to understand how these system failures happened, so we can ensure they do not happen again.' The figures come as Queensland's 17-month Commission of Inquiry led by former Federal Court judge Paul Anastassiou KC into the state's "broken" Child Safety System holds its first public hearing on Wednesday. The government previously claimed the residential care system is failing children at a cost of $1.2 billion. "There is no coincidence that we have a broken child safety system and a youth crime crisis in this state, and we are determined to take action on both," Queensland Premier David Crisafulli previously said. A separate inquiry is also examining the rules governing unlicensed providers to care for vulnerable children.
ABC News
03-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Babies among children in Queensland's residential care system as major child protection inquiry begins
Queensland's child safety minister has declared she wants fewer kids in the residential care system and says she has even visited facilities looking after babies. A new commission of inquiry probing Queensland's child protection system kicked off its work this week, with hearings set to commence soon. In an interview with the ABC, Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm said she expected Queenslanders will be shocked by the stories that emerge from the inquiry. "I have families and young people that have contacted me directly, children who have reached out to the child family commissioner sharing those stories," she said. "[I've heard] stories of sexual abuse and sexual assault that exist within the residential care system. "There's harrowing cases — cases of children who have attempted suicide in care because of their mental health, because they're not getting the support that they need." Ms Camm said she wanted children and young people who were currently or had previously been in the system to tell their stories to the inquiry. She also promised protections for people who wanted to remain anonymous, and anticipates the commission will share de-identified stories. "We also know that many across the [child safety] department are doing an incredible job. But those that may not have, I certainly want to uncover that as well. "And I want there to be accountability at the end of this commission for anyone who may not have been doing the things that they needed to be doing to protect children." In December 2015, there were 650 Queensland kids in residential care — but by December last year, that figure climbed to 2,212. Ms Camm said she wanted that number to fall and declared the government's priority was for kids to be placed in family-based care, such as kinship and foster care. "Residential care was designed as a last resort for young adolescent children, so teenagers who couldn't be placed in foster and kinship care," she said. "It was designed for a small period of time as a crisis response. The minister said she had visited residential care facilities that were looking after babies, amid an increase in children under 12 in the system. She said the children received 24/7 support from carers. "That is not the same as being in family-based care. "And we don't truly know the damage that that can do to a young child, particularly in their development years and through the period where they need to attach and feel love and feel secure in a family." The commission of inquiry, which is headed up by Paul Anastassiou KC, is due to hand down its final report in November next year. Ms Camm defended the length of the inquiry, saying the system was "so big", and also noted the commission would deliver interim reports. She would not say if the government would accept all the recommendations from the inquiry. "[The] government will consider all of those recommendations. We will take some time to consider those," Ms Camm said. Prior to the election, the government promised to introduce a "dual carer" model by 2030, ensuring all residential care facilities always have two carers. Ms Camm said she was open to legislating the requirement, after the government put $10.9 million towards the initiative in the most recent budget. She also said she remained committed to a new independent complaints process for the system and is confident it will be set up before the next election. "We do need a level of independence to ensure that both carers but also children and families feel heard." Ms Camm said the commission of inquiry had been tasked to recommend a way to establish a complaints process.
Sydney Morning Herald
02-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Fears of defamation, reputational harm muffle childcare abuse concerns
Risk to reputation, defamation fears, and a 'complex and crowded' regulatory landscape have stifled early childcare services' concerns about potential sexual abuse by staff, a government-commissioned review has found. Commissioned in December last year, the review into Queensland's response to child sexual abuse found some staff members weren't correctly trained to identify suspicious behaviour, and privacy concerns 'minimised' early warning signs. Queensland Minister for Child Safety Amanda Camm said any recommendations delivered by the review would be prioritised, but she would move to patch holes in the system immediately. 'When you're entrusting your child to be educated, they are little, they are vulnerable, [and] we expect they are getting the highest standard in care and education, and we as a government are committed to that,' she said. 'Queensland parents deserve the right for their children to go to childcare and be safe.' Loading The review also covered the Blue Card system, which it found did not screen for concerning behaviour that did not lead to a conviction. It also found about 20 per cent of Queenslanders hold a Blue Card, enabling them to work with children. 'The attorney-general is working with other state attorneys to make sure … we have the checks and balances and the legislative frameworks to be able to hold those people to account if they have perpetrated [against a child],' Camm said.
