Victorian authorities took at least 29 days to initiate investigations into over 2,600 child protection cases during the last financial year. The data also reveals that the state allocates less funding per child for care services compared to any other state or territory.
The latest Report on Government Services highlights significant issues within the child protection system, even as the Allan government signals impending budgetary constraints.
The child protection system in Victoria is facing substantial challenges.
In the 2023-24 financial year, the Allan government allocated $821. 96 per child for care services, the lowest expenditure in the nation, with all jurisdictions except the ACT spending over $1,000 per child.
During this period, the report indicated that there were 2,615 cases in which child protection authorities took longer than 29 days to commence an investigation following a notification.
In the last financial year, over 34,300 investigations were completed, with 14,398, or 41. 9 percent, being substantiated, indicating reasonable grounds to believe that a child had been or was being abused, neglected, or harmed.
A total of 593 children in care were involved in substantiated cases concerning serious issues such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, or neglect, an increase from 381 the previous year.
As a percentage of children in care, this figure represented the highest rate in the nation at 4. 8 percent.
The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing stated that these numbers were elevated due to a higher volume of investigations conducted in the most recent financial year, rather than an increase in harm or new cases.
However, the Report on Government Services indicates that the total number of investigations completed in 2023-24 was 3,000 cases fewer than the prior year.
The overall number of investigations initiated in Victoria across all categories, including lower-risk areas, has also been on the rise, with 41,123 investigations in 2023-24 compared to 39,404 the previous year and 35,479 in 2021-22.
“The safety and wellbeing of children is our top priority, and any abuse or neglect of children in out-of-home care is unacceptable,” a department spokesperson stated.
“We recognize the need for improvement in outcomes for children and young people in residential care. That’s why we are ensuring all young people have access to therapeutic supports by 2025-26providing them with the necessary care to promote healing from trauma and support their wellbeing.
“Our staff and agencies are committed to ensuring the safety of vulnerable children, and we are ensuring that every child in care is supervised by either a team manager or case manager. ”
Opposition child protection spokeswoman Roma Britnell criticized the figures as unacceptable, emphasizing that children should not have to wait for a month or more for an investigation into their safety.
She stated that the 593 children affected by abuse or neglect represent a failure of government, indicating that children removed from their homes face additional risks.
“The report highlights Labor’s failure to rectify Victoria’s broken child protection system, leaving a growing number of vulnerable children at risk,” Britnell remarked.
The Allan government has invested $4 billion to enhance child protection and family services over the past five years.
Liana Buchanan, Victoria’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, noted that the sector has been requesting greater support at various levels, even as the government seeks to reduce spending.
Advocates have persistently urged an increase in foster carer allowances, which are the lowest of any state or territory, in light of data indicating a decline in the number of available carers.
A report commissioned from consulting firm KPMG in January 2022, which has not been publicly released, recommended a 67 percent increase in total payments to foster carers. Implementing this change would have cost $114 million in the 2021 financial year, but it has yet to be adopted.
As the May state budget approaches, ministers have been tasked with identifying savings within their respective areas.
Since 2020, Victoria’s families department has reported 66 deaths of children who were either inside or known to the child-protection system.
Treasurer Jaclyn Symes recently cautioned that up to 3,000 public servants might lose their jobs as the state government aims to curb spending, although this will not affect frontline child protection staff.
In her latest annual report, Commissioner for Children and Young People Liana Buchanan observed a 30 percent rise in allegations of child abuse since 2022-23 and a 136 percent increase since 2017.
Buchanan remarked that an inquiry into a 12-year-old who had been moved through unsafe temporary accommodations before allegedly committing murder revealed some of the most significant systemic failures she had encountered.
“This case exemplifies the extreme manifestation of numerous issues highlighted in systemic inquiries over the past few years, resulting in devastating consequences,” she stated in October of last year.
Last year, The Age reported that the families department had received 66 reports of child deaths since 2020.