Spending on child protection across Australia has nearly doubled over the past decade, climbing from $5.4 billion in 2014–15 to $10.2 billion in 2023–24 (adjusted for inflation), according to newly published research. However, this substantial increase has not led to improvements in key activity measures, such as the rate of investigations for alleged maltreatment or the number of children entering out-of-home care, nor has it enhanced outcomes for children.
Fragmented Systems Undermine Child Safety
Protecting Australia’s children involves multiple overlapping systems—health, childcare, education, justice, policing, disability services, and social welfare—yet there is no national child protection system to coordinate them. Each state and territory runs its own system, sharing guiding principles but differing in practice. This fragmentation means prevention is often sidelined in favor of reacting to harm after it occurs. Recent inquiries in Queensland and Victoria have highlighted that this fragmentation is not only inefficient but may cause additional harm.
The concerns raised are not new. Queensland alone has had four inquiries in the past 30 years (1999, 2004, 2012–13, and 2025–26), and Victoria has had three (2012, 2024, and 2026). As Paul Anastassiou, presiding commissioner for the 2025–26 Queensland inquiry, stated, “the child protection system continues to fail children and the community in serious respects.”
Three Key Problems Identified
First, child protection systems do not function as a cohesive whole. Statutory services hold decision-making authority over intervention and removal, but they cannot control the conditions that create harm, such as poverty, housing instability, family violence, mental illness, and substance use. Responsibility for child safety is distributed across many systems, but accountability is not—no single system is accountable for whether children are kept safe, stable, and supported across their life course. Information is often incomplete or fragmented, leading to high-stakes decisions made on shaky foundations.
Second, systems act too late and can themselves cause harm. In more than 50% of cases, children and families in contact with systems have already been subject to a child protection investigation. The Victorian inquiry revealed that children aged 15–17 years old can expect to be re-reported almost seven times once in contact with statutory child protection. Additionally, children may experience multiple placements, uprooting stability, and significant delays in receiving health care. The most recent Queensland inquiry noted that children in residential care experience higher rates of trauma, unmet mental health needs, self-harm, and suicide attempts, with the commission recognizing the state’s heavy reliance on residential care as one of its biggest failures.
Third, crisis responses are over-prioritized. Both inquiries found that most resources are spent on responding to crises rather than early intervention. Research shows that between 2014–15 and 2023–24, the proportion of spending on out-of-home care increased from 58.4% to 63.6%, while investment in intensive family support reduced from 8.2% to 6.2% of the overall spend.
Path Forward: National Leadership and Prevention
To address these systemic failures, federal leadership is needed. Australia requires a national child maltreatment prevention agenda with sustained investment in prevention and early support. This could be overseen by the Department of Social Services, which aims to improve the economic and social wellbeing of individuals, families, and vulnerable communities. Alternatively, because child maltreatment is a significant public health issue, it could be assigned to the Australian Centre for Disease Control, a national agency established to strengthen prevention, preparedness, and response to public health threats.
Shared accountability across all systems involved in supporting children’s safety is also essential. Furthermore, genuine partnership with First Nations organizations is needed to help Indigenous children, who are over-represented in child protection systems. Until these systems are designed to work together, they will continue to fail to deliver what children need most: safety, stability, and support.
