Today in Budget Estimates, Abigail pressed the Minister for Families and Communities for an update on the delayed Government response to an inquiry that revealed a critical disconnect between the DCJ and the Family Court—leading to at-risk children being placed in the custody of their abusers.

Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: Good morning to you, Minister, and to all of your officials. I wanted to start with something I raised with you at the last budget estimates, a report of the Committee on Children and Young People regarding children falling through the gaps when it comes to kids who have been identified as being at risk then being put with the person who they are at risk from by the Family Court when they go through the family law system. This was an incredibly emotional and important inquiry that we held at the end of 2022. There were some really important recommendations. It has been 18 months that you've now been the Minister. As far as I know, we're a year late in responding to that report. I asked you about it during the last estimates. Where is it?

Ms KATE WASHINGTON (Minister for Families and Communities): ... As I recall, the committee's report landed prior to us coming into government. It fell into this unusual situation where, as a new government, there was no actual legal obligation to respond.

MICHAEL TIDBALL (Secretary, Department of Communities and Justice): Ms Boyd, if this is unhelpful, please stop me, but specifically in relation to the Family Court and, from memory, the section 91 mechanism, there have been discussions with Chief Justice Alstergren and his deputy Justice McClelland in relation to where the court makes referrals and seeks a response by the State to care issues. There is effectively a protocol in place for that now. Part of our interest is where those referrals are made, hence they are copied to my office and they are reviewed and examined. We're ensuring that those referrals land in a place where we are satisfied that the response is appropriate. That is being overseen by my office.

Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: I'm very grateful to you, Mr Tidball, for the information but also for being a strong advocate in relation to this and trying to solve these issues. But the report did go further than that in terms of the recommendations. I think Ms Campbell and Ms Czech were both at the inquiry. We heard and know that there are hundreds of children who are currently in the custody of people who are sexually abusing them or people who are physically abusing them. They were identified as being at risk by the department but were then placed with those people, mainly because, it seems, there is a lack of information going across from DCJ and an inability or unwillingness to step into appeals. I am very interested in those two aspects in particular. Has there been any movement on that to try to keep these kids safe and put them back with their parents, who are very, very upset?

Ms KATE WASHINGTON: It is always the department's focus to keep kids safe. We will always be acting on any reports of the nature that you've just described. In terms of the work of the committee and the formal response, that is imminent. As the secretary has already let the Committee know, there is work being done on the Family Court interaction side.

MICHAEL TIDBALL: The response to referrals, to be very frank, was a very low level. That has been not only recalibrated but is also being closely monitored. I think in the next couple of weeks I have a further meeting with the Chief Justice to discuss how it is going from the court's perspective.

Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: I appreciate that, but given just how upsetting it is, every hour that these kids are with people who they should never have been placed with and that DCJ knew about, I don't understand why the response has taken so long. It's been six months since I asked last time. Is this a priority? Are we going to get a response soon, and are we going to get real action to solve this?

Ms KATE WASHINGTON: Protecting kids and keeping them safe is always a priority for our Government and for the department. In terms of a response, it is imminent. As I said, it wasn't necessarily something that we as a government had to do, but we wanted to ensure that the important findings and the work done by the committee inform our work as a government and as a department. 

3 September 2024