{"id":23917,"date":"2026-06-03T08:17:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T08:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/23917\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T08:17:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T08:17:06","slug":"queensland-commission-of-inquiry-makes-52-recommendations-to-state-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/23917\/","title":{"rendered":"Queensland Commission of Inquiry makes 52 recommendations to state government"},"content":{"rendered":"

Children under the age of five will be removed from residential care in Queensland, the child safety minister says, following a major inquiry.<\/p>\n

The state’s Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety made 52 recommendations to the government to address what it called serious failures.<\/p>\n

The inquiry was announced by the state government last year to review and fix issues across the child safety sector, including inadequate care for thousands of Queensland children and soaring costs.<\/p>\n

In February, the government brought forward the commission\u2019s reporting deadline, and its report was handed to the government on May 22.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Minister for Child Safety Amanda Camm. (AAP: Darren England)<\/p>\n

Recommendations include considering increasing access to adoption in Queensland, redesigning and restructuring the department, overhauling licensing of providers, simplifying child protection orders and putting children’s best interests at the centre of case officers’ decision making.<\/p>\n

Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm told parliament Queensland had 2,258 children in residential care, including 78 under the age of five.<\/p>\n

“I have made a policy decision no children under the age of five are to remain in residential care,” she said.<\/p>\n

Ms Camm told parliament Queensland had 13,568 children living in out-of-home care.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“By far the largest number of children in care anywhere in our nation,” she said.<\/p>\n

Releasing the 1,3000-page From Pressure to Purpose report today, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the government would establish a cabinet sub-committee with the government to respond to the report within two months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“To the many people who made a submission and gave evidence, please know we not only admire your courage but we honour it,” she said.<\/p>\n

“In telling your stories, an often harrowing process, your trust and candour has been invaluable. What’s more, it will lead to action.”<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

There are more than 2,200 children in residential care in Queensland, including 78 under the age of five. (ABC News: Curtis Rodda)<\/p>\n

Ms Camm said the commission also found 67 per cent of reported incidents of sexual abuse made to the Department of Child Safety involved children placed in residential care.<\/p>\n

“Some of the findings in this report should keep Queenslanders awake at night,” she said.<\/p>\n

Almost 50 hearings were held over 10 months across Cairns, Brisbane and Townsville.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms Camm said she was “horrified at how former government has failed our most vulnerable children”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In parliament, Opposition Leader Steven Miles called on the premier to “sack” Ms Camm, saying “Queenslanders cannot trust the minister to lead major reforms”.<\/p>\n

Mr Miles told the House, if implemented, the report’s 52 recommendations would “enhance protections for Queensland children”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said in its decision to bring forward the commission\u2019s reporting deadline, the government limited the ability for matters to be investigated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Family-based care over residential, commissioner says<\/p>\n

In his report, Commissioner Paul Anastassiou KC recommended all models of family-based care, including adoption where appropriate, should be prioritised over residential care.<\/p>\n

Recommendations included studying the feasibility of delivering “simple adoption” for children in out-of-home care and “fully considering” permanency options for children, including adoption of all children.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite “strong submissions from First Nations stakeholders against adoption”, Mr Anastassiou recommended that “the availability of adoption should not be limited by cultural background or ethnicity”.<\/p>\n

“Allowing historical wrongs to foreclose consideration of adoption entirely risks substituting one form of harm for another, and risks prolonged impermanence for children who cannot return home,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The report delivered 52 recommendations to the Queensland government. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

Call for ‘restructure’ of department<\/p>\n

The commission has recommended that the government “redesign and restructure” the department within six months.<\/p>\n

This follows evidence of “fragmented responsibility, variable practice, unclear accountability and difficulty tracking children\u2019s pathways through the system”.<\/p>\n

“For children, the expected impact is more consistent practice, clearer responsibility for decisions, better pathway oversight and reduced variation in service quality depending on location,” the report said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other recommendations included introducing a strategy to prevent the exploitation of girls, who were particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse, and studying the feasibility of the department becoming a direct service provider in non-family based care.<\/p>\n

The commissioner has also recommended the government establish an independent, child-centred complaints and escalation framework for the child safety system.<\/p>\n

It has recommended the government “immediately suspend” the practice of placing children requiring out-of-home care in hotels and motels.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It said the practice should only be used in “tightly defined emergency circumstances” with the approval of a senior department officer.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Commissioner Paul Anastassiou KC oversaw the inquiry. (AAP: Darren England)<\/p>\n

At the final hearing last month, Mr Anastassiou told the inquiry he hoped there would be less talk and more action.<\/p>\n

Mr Anastassiou said he hoped the system would be refocused on the best interests of the 12,500 children in care and the “villains” causing harm to children.<\/p>\n

Ms Camm said the challenges facing the system “did not emerge overnight”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“They have developed over many, many years, and they will require serious reform that will take time,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We are prepared to confront difficult truths and make the decision necessary to improve outcomes for children and ultimately break the cycle.”<\/p>\n

Support for young people and familiesThe Butterfly Foundation<\/a>: National helpline 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673), 8am-midnight (AEST\/AEDT), 7 days a week\u00a0ReachOut Australia<\/a>: Confidential online peer support for young people and online resources for wellbeingHeadspace<\/a>: Centres in each state and territory or check out eheadspace<\/a> for online supportThe Kids Helpline<\/a>: 24-hour support on 1800 55 1800Lifeline<\/a>: 24-hour support for all Australians on 13 11 14<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Children under the age of five will be removed from residential care in Queensland, the child safety minister…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5480,22,21,22265,4543,7445,5251,211,212],"class_list":["post-23917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-amanda-camm","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-child-safety-inquiry","tag-children","tag-commission","tag-commissioner","tag-qld","tag-queensland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}