Permanency Outcomes Performance Framework indicators

The Permanency Outcomes Performance Framework (POPF) was developed to measure jurisdictional performance on achieving permanency outcomes for children in out-of-home care (Seselja 2017; CSM 2018).

Table 1 presents data on 14 indicators under POPF. Aspects of permanency covered by the indicators include:

  • preservation (where families are supported to keep children at home safely)
  • reunification (where children are returned home safely after time in out-of-home care)
  • other permanency outcomes where reunification is not possible (third-party parental responsibility order or adoption)
  • stability of permanency outcomes (whether they are still in place after 12 months).
  • Timely and informed decision-making related to permanency arrangements (the achievement of orders and permanency outcomes within 2 years of admission to out-of-home care).

Indicators relate to children who are in long term out-of-home care. These indicators focus on children who have been in out-of-home care for more than 2 years, covering:

  • legal stability (which legal orders children are placed on and how long it takes to achieve their order)
  • placement stability (time in placement and number of placements)

A summary of all POPF indicators is provided in the table below for quick reference. For further context on the data below, please refer to the Child Protection Australia 2023–24: Pathways from out-of-home care technical specifications and data tables, and the Child Protection Australia 2023–24 appendices.

Table 1: POPF indicators 2023–24 – national summary
IndicatorNational data

Domain 1

Permanent, safe and stable care

1.1a

About 44,900 children (7.7 per 1,000) aged 0–17 were in out-of-home care at 30 June 2024.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data table S5.5.

1.1b

About 31,200 children (69%) aged 0–17 in out-of-home care at 30 June 2024 had been in out-of-home care for 2 years or more.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data table S5.14.

Domain 2

Preservation

1.2

81% of children aged 0–16 who were the subject of a substantiation in 2022–23 were not admitted to out-of-home care within 12 months of the substantiation.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Permanency Outcomes Performance Framework indicators, data table 11.1.

Domain 3

Reunification and permanent care

1.3

16% of children aged 0–17 in out-of-home care (excluding children on long-term guardianship orders) were reunified in 2023–24.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, data table 10.15.

1.4

2.0% of children aged 0–17 in out-of-home care received a third-party parental responsibility order in 2023–24.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Permanency Outcomes Performance Framework indicators, data table 11.2.

1.5

Less than 1% of children (70 children) aged 0–17 in out-of-home care were adopted in 2023–24.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Permanency Outcomes Performance Framework indicators, data table 11.3.

1.6

90% of children aged 0–16 who exited out-of-home care to a permanency outcome in 2022–23 did not return to out-of-home care within 12 months.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Permanency Outcomes Performance Framework indicators, data table 11.4.

1.6a

87% of children aged 0–16 who exited out-of-home care to reunification in 2022–23 did not return to out-of-home care within 12 months.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, data table 10.19.

1.6b

99.8% of children aged 0–16 who exited out-of-home care to a third-party parental responsibility order in 2022–23 did not return to out-of-home care within 12 months.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Permanency Outcomes Performance Framework indicators, data table 11.5.

1.6c

All children aged 0–16 who exited out-of-home care to adoption in 2022–23 did not return to out-of-home care within 12 months.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Permanency Outcomes Performance Framework indicators, data table 11.6.

Domain 4

Stability

1.7a

81% of children aged 2–17 in out-of-home care for 2 or more years at 30 June 2024 were on long-term guardianship orders.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Permanency Outcomes Performance Framework indicators, data table 11.7.

1.7b

87% of children aged 2–17 in out-of-home care for 2 or more years at 30 June 2024 experienced less than 3 placements in the last 2 years.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Permanency Outcomes Performance Framework indicators, data table 11.8.

Domain 5

Timely and informed decision-making on permanency

2.1

96% of children aged 0–17 in out-of-home care received a finalised care and protection order within 2 years of admission to out-of-home care in 2023–24.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Permanency Outcomes Performance Framework indicators, data table 11.10.

2.2

72% of children aged 0–17 in out-of-home care received a permanency outcome or long-term guardianship order within 2 years of admission to out-of-home care in 2023–24.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Permanency Outcomes Performance Framework indicators, data table 11.11.

 

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