In Australia, statutory child protection is the responsibility of state and territory governments. Each responsible department assists vulnerable children who have been, or are at risk of being, abused, neglected or otherwise harmed, or whose parents are unable to provide adequate care and protection.

This page provides an overview of children who received child protection services in 2017–18. It also covers historical trends in child protection services and the types of services provided to children in need of care and protection.

Children who received child protection services

In 2017–18, about 159,000 children aged 0–17 received child protection services. These include investigations (which may or may not lead to substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect), care and protection orders and/or out-of-home care placements (Figure 1). This equates to a rate of 28.7 per 1,000 children. More than half (56%) of these children were the subject of an investigation only and were not subsequently placed on a care and protection order or in out-of-home care. A small proportion (7.4%) were involved in all 3 components of the system. See glossary for definitions of the child protection service types.

Figure 1 alternative text     Figure 1 data table (123KB XLSX)

Some groups of children are consistently overrepresented in the child protection system. In 2017–18:

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were 8 times as likely as non‑Indigenous children to have received child protection services (163.8 per 1,000 children compared with 19.7 respectively)
  • infants (aged under 1) were more likely to have received child protection services than those aged 15–17 (37.8 per 1,000 compared with 21.3 respectively)
  • children from geographically remote areas had the highest rates of substantiations—children from Very remote areas were 4 times as likely as those from Major cities to be the subject of substantiations (26.1 per 1,000 compared with 7.0, respectively)
  • children who were the subjects of substantiations were more likely to be from lower socioeconomic areas (36% were from the lowest socioeconomic area compared with 5.4% from the highest).

For further information about child protection services for Indigenous children see Indigenous community safety.

Trends

The number of children receiving child protection services continues to rise. Over the 5-year period from 2013–14 to 2017–18, the overall number of children who received child protection services in Australia rose by 11%—from around 143,000 children (27.2 per 1,000) to around 158,600 children (28.7 per 1,000) (Figure 2). The fall in the number of children receiving services between 2016–17 and 2017–18 resulted from a change in the definition of child protection investigation for New South Wales.

Figure 2 alternative text     Figure 2 data table (123KB XLSX)

Substantiated investigations

An investigation can lead to a substantiation if there is sufficient reason to believe a child has been, or is at risk of being, abused, neglected or otherwise harmed by a carer. The rate of children who were the subjects of substantiations rose from 7.2 per 1,000 children in 2013–14 to 8.5 per 1,000 children in 2017–18, an increase of 18%.

In 2017–18, the rate of children who were the subjects of substantiations was 8.5 per 1,000 children. The primary type of abuse or neglect reported for a substantiation is the one considered most likely to place the child at risk or be more severe in the short term. Emotional abuse was the most common primary type of abuse or neglect substantiated for all children (59%).

Girls were more likely to be subjects of substantiations of sexual abuse than boys (11% and 6.8% respectively). Boys were slightly more likely than girls to be subjects of substantiations for neglect (18% and 16% respectively) and physical abuse (16% and 14%) (Figure 3).

Figure 3 alternative text     Figure 3 data table (123KB XLSX)

Care and protection orders

Care and protection orders are legal orders or arrangements that give child protection departments some responsibility for a child’s welfare. Between 30 June 2014 and 30 June 2018, the rate of children on care and protection orders increased from 8.7 to 10.1 per 1,000 children.

Out-of-home care

Out-of-home care is overnight care for children aged 0–17, where financial support from child protection departments is given or offered to the carer. At 30 June 2018, about 45,800 children were in out-of-home care. Between 30 June 2014 and 30 June 2018, the rate of children in out‑of‑home care rose from 8.1 to 8.2 per 1,000 children—an increase of 1%.

As at 30 June 2018, the vast majority (93%) of children in out‑of‑home care were in home‑based care, mostly with relative or kinship carers (51%), or in foster care (39%). Another 5.8% were living in residential care, mainly used for children with complex needs. Half (50%) of children in relative or kinship placements were living with their grandparents and 23% with an aunt or uncle.

Most (82%) of the children in out-of-home care at 30 June 2018 had been continuously in out-of-home care for 1 year or more. This included:

  • 30% who had been in out-of-home care for between 2 years and less than 5 years
  • 40% who had been in out of home care for 5 years or more.

Most (73%) children in long-term (2 years or more) out-of-home care were under long-term legal responsibility of the state or territory. Another 11% lived with a third-party carer who had long-term legal responsibility for them (Figure 4). Permanency planning is used in all states and territories with a view to achieving a stable long‑term care arrangement for all children in out‑of‑home care (AIHW 2016, 2018, 2019).

Figure 4 alternative text     Figure 4 data table (123KB XLSX)

Where do I go for more information?

See child protection for more on this topic.

Also see Child protection Australia 2017–18 (report and supplementary data tables).

The AIHW is progressing national reporting on permanency and long‑term care through the development of permanency indicators and expanded reporting on known‑carer adoptions.

References

AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) 2016. Permanency planning in child protection. Child welfare series no. 64. Cat. no. CWS 58. Canberra: AIHW.

AIHW 2018. Adoptions Australia 2017–18. Child welfare series no. 69. Cat. no. CWS 66. Canberra: AIHW.

AIHW 2019. Child protection Australia 2017–18. Child welfare series no. 70. Cat. no. CWS 65. Canberra: AIHW.

Alternative text for figures

Figure 1: Children who received child protection services, by component of service, 2017–18

The Venn diagram shows the percentage of children receiving child protection services by service component. There are three circles which represent components of child protection services where children may receive one or more services including investigations, care and protection orders, and out‑of‑home care. In 2017–18, 56% of children received an investigation only, 26% received a care and protection order and out‑of‑home care and 7.4% received all three services—an investigation, a care and protection order and out‑of‑home care.

Figure 2: Children in the child protection system, by service type, 2013–14 to 2017–18

The line chart shows there was an overall increase in children receiving child protection services from 2013–14 to 2017–18. Over the past five years, the rate of children receiving child protection services increased from 27.2 per 1,000 in 2013–14 to 28.7 per 1,000 in 2017–18. Between 2013–14 and 2017–18, the rate of children who were the subject of substantiated investigations rose from 7.2 to 8.5 per 1,000 children. From 30 June 2014 to 30 June 2018, increases were also seen in the rate of children on care and protection orders (8.7 to 10.1 per 1,000) and the rate of children in out‑of‑home care (8.1 to 8.2 per 1,000).

Figure 3: Children who were the subjects of substantiations, by sex and primary type of abuse or neglect, 2017–18

The bar chart shows the proportion of children who were the subjects of substantiations of notifications received during 2017–18, by sex and type of abuse or neglect. Emotional abuse was the most common abuse type for boys and girls (59% and 59%, respectively), followed by neglect (18% and 16%), physical abuse (16% and 14%) and sexual assault (6.8% and 11%).

Figure 4: Children in long-term out-of-home care, by legal arrangements at 30 June 2018

The bar chart shows the proportion of children in long-term (2 years or more) out‑of‑home care by legal arrangement. 73% of children were on a long-term guardianship arrangement, followed by 11% who were under third-party parental care arrangements, 8.6% who were in short-term guardianship arrangements and the remaining 3.1% of children were in some other care and protection order.