How many children were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care?
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Introduction Type of substantiated abuse Rate of substantiated abuse among all children in careIntroduction
In 2023–24, about 1,500 children in Australia were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care. Of these children:
- 50% (750) were girls and 49% (720) were boys, with the remaining 1% (12) of children’s sex being not stated.
- 45% (670) were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
- 38% (560) were aged 10–14 at the time of substantiation.
Sources: CPA 2023–24: Safety of children in care, data tables S9.1, S9.5, and S9.6
While the proportion of boys and girls who were subject of a substantiation of abuse in care were similar, the proportion was slightly higher for younger boys than for younger girls.
- About 5% (79) were boys aged less than 5, and about 4% (62) were girls aged less than 5.
- About 15% (225) were boys aged 5–9, compared to 12% (175) of girls aged 5–9.
Source: CPA 2023–24: Safety of children in care, data table S9.6
The proportion of children who were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care was higher for older girls than older boys.
- About 20% (290) were girls aged 10–14, compared to 18% (260) who were boys aged 10–14.
- About 15% (215) were girls aged 15 and over, compared to 11% (160) of boys aged 15 and over (Figure 1).
Source: CPA 2023–24: Safety of children in care, data table S9.6
Figure 1: Children who were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care, by age and sex, 2023–24
Grouped column chart showing that the highest rates were observed among girls and boys aged 10 to 14.
- Age is based on the child’s age on the date the substantiation was recorded, not age at the time the abuse occurred. As such, the ’15 and over’ category may include children who were under 18 at the time of abuse, but were aged 18 and over at the time of substantiation.
- Percentages presented in this figure are of the total population of children who had substantiations of abuse in care.
Source:
CPA 2023–24: Safety of children in care, data table S9.2
Type of substantiated abuse
The type of substantiated abuse presented in this section is the ‘primary’ type of abuse or neglect – the type of abuse that is considered most likely to place the child at risk or be most severe in the short term.
In 2023–24, emotional (30% or 450) and physical abuse (27% or 405) were the most common primary types of abuse for all children in care.
Source: CPA 2023–24: Safety of children in care, data table S9.2
For boys (about 720), the most common forms of substantiated abuse were:
- emotional abuse (31% or 220)
- physical abuse (30% or 220) (Figure 2).
For girls (about 750), the most common forms of substantiated abuse were:
- emotional abuse (30% or 225)
- physical abuse (25% or 185) (Figure 2).
The proportion of substantiated sexual abuse was higher among girls (17.2% or 130) than boys (7.9% or 57), while the proportion of substantiated neglect was slightly higher among boys (20% or 140) than girls (19% or 140).
Source: CPA 2023–24: Safety of children in care, data table S9.5
Figure 2: Children who were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care, by type of abuse and sex, 2023–24
Staked column chart showing that for both boys and girls in care, substantiated emotional abuse and substantiated physical abuse had the highest rates.
Total includes children whose sex was not stated or recorded as ‘intersex or indeterminate’, and children whose substantiated abuse type was not stated. As such, the subcategories may not sum to 100%.
Source:
CPA 2023–24: Safety of children in care, data table S9.5
The most common type of substantiated abuse varied by age groups. Among those:
- aged under 5 the most common abuse type was neglect (31% or 44)
- aged 5–9 the most common abuse type was emotional abuse (40% or 160)
- aged 10–14 the most common abuse type was emotional abuse (31% or 170)
- aged 15 and over the most common abuse type was physical abuse (34% or 130) (Figure 3).
Across all age groups, sexual abuse was most common among children aged 10–14 (35% or 66).
Source: CPA 2023–24: Safety of children in care, data table S9.4
Figure 3: Children who were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care, by type of abuse and age, 2023–24
Staked column chart showing that substantiated emotional abuse had the highest rates across most age groups for children in care.
1. Total includes children whose substantiated abuse type was not stated. As such, the subcategories may not sum to 100%.
2. Age is based on the child’s age on the date the substantiation was recorded, not age at the time the abuse occurred. As such, the ’15 and over’ category may include children who were under 18 at the time of abuse, but were aged 18 and over at the time of substantiation.
Source:
CPA 2023–24: Safety of children in care, data table S9.4
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (665) and non-Indigenous children (815) subject to a substantiation of abuse in care, the incidence of primary type of abuse was similar:
- Emotional abuse was the most common type of substantiated abuse for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (30% or 200) and non-Indigenous children (31% or 250).
- Physical abuse was the second most common type of substantiated abuse for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (25% or 165) and non-Indigenous children (30% or 240).
- Neglect was the primary type of abuse substantiated for 20% (135) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and 18% (150) of non-Indigenous children
- Substantiations of sexual abuse was the least common type of substantiated abuse for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (14% or 90) and non-Indigenous children (12% or 100) (Figure 4).
Source: CPA 2023–24: Safety of children in care, data table S9.3
Figure 4: Children who were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care, by type of abuse and Indigenous status, 2023–24
Staked column chart showing that for children in care, substantiated emotional abuse had the highest rate across Indigenous status groups.
Total includes children whose Indigenous status was not stated, and children whose substantiated abuse type was not stated. As such, the subcategories may not sum to 100%.
Source:
CPA 2023–24: Safety of children in care, data table S9.4
Rate of substantiated abuse among all children in care
Currently, it is not possible to estimate the rate of substantiated abuse among all children in care because:
- Data are based on the date of substantiation (not date of abuse), so may include historical cases of children who were in care at the time the abuse occurred, but subsequently exited care before the date of the substantiation. This may mean it is not possible to identify a directly comparable numerator and denominator for use in rate calculations. It may only be feasible to identify a ‘best estimate’ of all children in the in-care population to use as a denominator.
- Abuse in care substantiations data include children in out-of-home care, and children on selected types of court orders who may be in other (non-out-of-home care) living arrangements. Currently, there are no readily available data on other living arrangements. Data are readily available for the out-of-home care population; however, this is a narrower scope than the abuse in care substantiations data (so any comparisons may overestimate the rate of abuse in care).