Child protection Australia 2023–24

Introduction

Notifications, investigations, and substantiations are the entry point for children into the child protection system. These components are sequential:

1. A notification of alleged child maltreatment is made to a child protection department.
2. If the notification meets the threshold for further action, an investigation of the alleged maltreatment is conducted.
3. The investigation ends with a substantiation decision about whether there is reasonable cause to believe that a child has been, is being, or is at risk or significant risk of being, maltreated.

Refer to the Appendices for more information on the notifications, investigations, and substantiations components of the child protection system.

The data in this section relate to children for whom notifications were made about them to child protection departments between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024.

Due to differences in the way jurisdictions collect, operate and report on notifications, investigations and substantiations, data are not comparable between jurisdictions. Data produced from the Child Protection National Minimum Data Set based on nationally agreed specifications might not match state and territory figures published elsewhere and might not be comparable with data for previous years. Refer to the Appendices for more information on differences in jurisdictions’ policy and practice.

How many children were subjects of notifications and investigations?

In 2023–24, 307,000 children were subjects of notifications (53 per 1,000).

The most common sources of notifications were:

• school personnel (28% or 86,300)
• police (21% or 63,000)
• medical or health personnel (11% or 32,700).

Sources: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data table T1; Unpublished data from the AIHW Child Protection Collection

The child protection collection may contain multiple notifications for a child relating to different events of alleged maltreatment, or a different person believed responsible. Of children who were subjects of notifications, about one-third (33% or 99,300) were subjects of 2 or more notifications for different events of alleged child maltreatment. Each event involves a single notification made to a child protection department.

Source: Unpublished data from the AIHW Child Protection Collection

In 2023–24, of the children who were subjects of notifications, just over half (56% or 171,000) had their notifications resolved without an investigation. Of these:

• more than half (59% or 102,000) did not require further action
• about one-third (33% or 56,500) were provided with advice or referred to other services
• about 7.7% (13,100) required other intervention.

Source: Unpublished data from the AIHW Child Protection Collection

About 39% (121,000) of children who had notifications made about them became subjects of investigations. Of these:

• the majority (82% or 98,300) had a finalised investigation with an outcome of either substantiated (43% or 42,100) or not substantiated (57% or 56,200)
• about 10% (12,300) had an investigation in process
• about 8.3% (10,000) had an investigation closed with no outcome possible, for example, in cases where families have relocated.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data table S3.3

In 2023–24, about 4,600 children were awaiting an assessment decision on whether to undertake an investigation.

Source: Unpublished data from the AIHW Child Protection Collection

How many children were subjects of substantiated maltreatment?

In 2023–24, about 43% (42,100) of children in finalised investigations were subjects of substantiations of maltreatment. Of these:

• 13,000 were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (33 per 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children)
• 27,500 were non-Indigenous children (5.1 per 1,000 non-Indigenous children).

Sources: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data tables S3.3 and S3.9

The higher rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in child protection substantiations is complex, and may have been affected by:

• the legacy of past policies of forced removal
• intergenerational effects of previous separations from family and culture
• a higher likelihood of living in the lowest socioeconomic areas
• perceptions arising from cultural differences in child-rearing (HREOC 1997).

More information on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children will be included in the report over the coming months.

Characteristics of children with substantiated maltreatment

For children who were subjects of substantiations:

• about 83% (34,900) had only one substantiation
• about 50% (21,200) were girls and about 47% (19,900) were boys, with the remaining 3% (1,000) of children’s sex being not stated
• emotional abuse was the most common type of maltreatment (57% or 24,000), followed by neglect (21% or 8,800)
• children living in very remote areas (20 per 1,000) were over 3 times more likely to be maltreated than children living in major cities (6.0 per 1,000)
• about one-third (34% or 14,300) were from the lowest socioeconomic areas
• of all age groups, infants aged under one had a higher proportion of substantiated maltreatment (14 per 1,000).

Sources: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data tables S3.4, S3.5, S3.7b, S3.8 and S3.13

Has the number of children in the system changed over time?

From 2019–20 to 2023–24, the rate of children who were:

• in the child protection system has remained stable around 31 per 1,000
• subjects of notifications increased from 49 per 1,000 to 53 per 1,000
• subjects of substantiations decreased from 8.7 per 1,000 to 7.3 per 1,000.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data table T1

While notifications increased, the rates for substantiations have decreased across these timeframes. This could be a result of:

• legislative changes, such as the expansion of the list of occupations that is mandated to report cases of suspected child maltreatment
• increased public awareness from inquiries into child protection processes.

Refer to the Appendices for more information on legislative changes and various inquiries into the child protection system.