In July 2019, Queensland’s Minister for Child Safety, Youth and Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, the Honourable Di Farmer, sought support from the Commission for a policy change in relation to the commencement and completion of investigation and assessments following notification of harm to a child.
We supported the proposed changes in principle, noting they should result in children being seen sooner, families having greater engagement with support services, and increased public confidence in the system.
The Seeing they are safe: Responsiveness to 5-day and 10-day notifications of child harm in Queensland report assesses how these policy changes were implemented and any improvement in three child safety service centres’ responsiveness to notifications of child harm.
Overall, this review has found good foundational work is underway to build stronger, more responsive investigation and assessment approaches. However, there is more work to be done to see and keep children safe.
We continue to monitor the time it takes to sight a child once a notification is received within a child safety service centre.