Queensland's Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety concluded its examination this week, highlighting the state's high number of children in residential care, costing the government around $420,000 per child annually. The inquiry, which ended in Toowoomba, heard evidence comparing Queensland's system to Victoria's and criticized the state's handling of child safety.
Since July 2025, Queensland's Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety has examined how to improve the state's care model. Ending this week in Toowoomba, the inquiry has heard a raft of evidence, including how roughly 2,200 young people are living in residential care in Queensland.
Queensland houses more vulnerable children in residential care than any other state or territory in the country, a Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety has been told. The inquiry, which has been examining how to improve the state's care model, ended in Toowoomba this week. During the six days of public hearings in Toowoomba, the inquiry was told that of about 12,500 children in out-of-home care in Queensland,A child in residential care costs the state government about $420,000 per child per year.which each have a population of approximately 1.2 million children. National foster care service OzChild told the inquiry the number of Queensland children in residential care was vastly different from that in Victoria. Chief executive officer Lisa Griffiths said fewer than 500 children lived in Victoria's residential care system. Dr Griffiths said 80 per cent of children in Victorian state care were living in kinship care or placed with one of the roughly 1,800 foster carers. Commissioner Paul Anastassiou KC shared his criticism of the state's role after hearing evidence throughout the inquiry. "I can't think of any other department services that is more difficult and granular than state as the parent,""There's a lot of labelling lazy excuses. I find it a distraction from finding out what the issue really is about." He said he would work to determine a way to "make the child safety system more nuanced … and less brittle and bureaucratic".The inquiry also assessed how the departments of Child Safety and Youth Justice worked together to manage children with both a child protection and a court order, known as a dual order. The inquiry was told that, "typically", about 40 to 45 per cent of juvenile offenders had a history with Child Safety, while about 24 per cent had active protection orders in place. However, in the 10 years prior to June 30, 2023, 72.9 per cent of children under Youth Justice supervision had previous contact with Child Safety.Department of Youth Justice acting director-general, Michael Drane, told the inquiry Queensland had seen an increase in the "frequency of violence" and the "speed of behaviour escalation" among young people in detention and on youth justice supervision in the last decade."We've certainly seen anecdotally an increase in the use of methamphetamines and substances like ice and the damage that does to the brain and decision making,"He also added that there were "common risk factors" that could contribute to children in state care offending. "From memory, Queensland has one of the highest numbers of disadvantaged communities in poverty and lack of employment opportunities," he said.The Queensland government previously committed to building a $50 million facility by 2028.The inquiry has held sittings throughout the state, including Cairns and Brisbane, since July 2025.Just In
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