Report profiles

Child Protection Australia 2010–11

Child Protection Australia 2010–11 is the fifteenth annual comprehensive report on child protection. It provides detailed statistical information on state and territory child protection and support services, and some of the characteristics of the children receiving these services. In Australia, child protection is a state and territory government responsibility. There are significant differences in how each jurisdiction deals with and reports child protection issues that need to be taken into account when making comparisons.

Notifications decreased while substantiations remained stable

Since 2009–10, the number of children subject to a notification decreased by 13% from 187,314 to 163,767. During the same period, the number of children subject to a substantiation of a notification remained relatively stable (increasing by less than 1%) from 31,295 to 31,527. Since 2006–07, the number of children subject to a substantiation of a notification has decreased by 7% from 34,028 to 31,527 (6.9 to 6.1 per 1,000 children).

Number of children on care and protection orders and in out-of-home care continues to rise

Since 2009–10, the number of children on care and protection orders increased by 4% from 37,730 to 39,058 (7.4 to 7.6 per 1,000 children). This increase is consistent with the trend over the last 5 years (increasing by 35% from 28,954 in 2007).

The number of children in out-of-home care has increased by 5% from 35,895 in 2010 to 37,648 in 2011. Since 2007, the number of children in out-of-home care rose by 33% from 28,379 to 37,648 (5.8 to 7.3 per 1,000 children).

The majority of children (93.5%) in out-of-home care at 30 June 2011 were in home-based care—45% in foster care, 46% in relative/kinship care and 2.5% in other types of home-based care. This follows a similar pattern observed in previous years.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be over-represented in the child protection system

In 2010–11, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were almost 8 times as likely to be the subject of substantiated child abuse and neglect as non-Indigenous children (rates of 34.6 and 4.5 per 1,000 children, respectively). At 30 June 2011, the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children on care and protection orders was more than 9 times the rate of non-Indigenous children (rates of 51.4 and 5.4 per 1,000 children, respectively). Similarly, the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care was 10 times the rate of non-Indigenous children (rate of 51.7 and 5.1 per 1,000 children, respectively.

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National Bowel Cancer Screening Program monitoring report: Phase 2, July 2008–June 2011

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) aims to reduce the incidence, illness and mortality related to bowel cancer in Australia by screening to detect cancers and pre-cancerous lesions in their early stages, when treatment will be most successful.

Phase 2 of the NBCSP ran from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2011 and invited people turning 50, 55 or 65 between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2010 to take part. During Phase 2, the program was suspended for about 6 months after the screening test was found to be returning a higher rate of negative results than expected. Remediation actions to retest those who may have been affected were undertaken and the apparent effects are also presented in this report.

How many people participated in Phase 2 of the NBCSP?

About 38% of the 2.1 million people invited in Phase 2 returned a completed bowel cancer screening kit for analysis. This overall participation rate was slightly lower than Phase 1, due to the inclusion of 50 year olds in Phase 2, as participation for the other two ages increased in Phase 2.

How many positive screening results were returned in Phase 2?

About 62,000 participants (7.8%) who returned a valid screening test had a positive screening result. These people were encouraged to follow up this result by visiting their primary health care practitioner for further investigative testing (colonoscopy).

About 71% of those with a positive screening result were recorded as having had a colonoscopy.

How many bowel cancers and adenomas were detected in Phase 2?

One in 33 colonoscopies performed to follow up a positive screening result diagnosed a confirmed (253) or suspected (868) cancer, while advanced adenomas were found in a further 3,333 participants (1 in 11 colonoscopies). Adenomas are benign growths that have the potential to become cancerous, and their removal is likely to lower the risk of future bowel cancers in these patients.

From the available NBCSP data, almost 80% of bowel cancers removed (resected) were in the earliest two (of four) stages of cancer spread.

Were there differences between subgroups participating in the NBCSP?

Women were more likely to screen than men; conversely, men had higher rates of screen-detected bowel cancers and overall bowel cancer incidence and mortality. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants, participants who spoke a language other than English at home, and participants who lived in Inner regional areas and Outer regional areas or areas of lower socioeconomic status had higher rates of positive screening results, yet lower rates of follow-up colonoscopies than other participants.