To the President and Members of the Legislative Council

The petitioners of New South Wales bring to the attention of the House serious and growing concerns regarding the safety, effectiveness, accountability, governance and administration of the NSW child protection and OOHC system.

Children are among the most vulnerable members of our community. Their safety, wellbeing, identity, family connections and right to be heard must be at the centre of every decision made by government agencies and organisations entrusted with their care.

The petitioners are concerned that publicly available government data, parliamentary material, reports of oversight bodies, information released under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, and significant media reporting raise questions that warrant comprehensive independent examination.

Matters Requiring Examination

Decline in authorised carers

The number of authorised carers in NSW declined from 17,121 at 30 June 2023 to 15,396 at 30 June 2025.

By 31 March 2026, the number had fallen further to 15,199 authorised carers.

This represents a reduction of approximately 11.2% between June 2023 and March 2026.

The loss of carers warrants examination alongside increasing placement pressures and the use of residential and other non-home-based care arrangements.

Children outside authorised placements

NSW parliamentary information records that, as at 31 March 2026, there were 13,582 children and young people in out-of-home care.

Of those children, 701,  were not in a placement with an authorised carer.

This included 416 children recorded as self-placed and 252 children recorded as absent for more than 24 hours with their location unknown.

The Department itself cautioned that the quality of this data requires improvement.

Allegations concerning children in statutory out-of-home care

Office of the Children’s Guardian data records 468 allegations of sexual misconduct, sexual offences and assault by staff, carers and volunteers in statutory out-of-home care during 2022–23. This has risen to 538 in the year 2025-2025.

Workforce injury

Information provided through NSW Budget Estimates records that, as at 30 June 2025, 291 caseworkers had open workers compensation claims, with 178 not working.

Of the 291 open claims, 238 were psychological workers compensation claims.

Public expenditure and accountability concerns

The petitioners further request examination of expenditure disclosed through parliamentary, GIPA and other government records, including reported expenditure concerning:

- $769,974.54 associated with the inquiry concerning former NSW Children’s Guardian Steve Kinmond;
- Approximately $92,124.97 as at May 2026 in legal expenditure associated with proceedings involving self-represented Aboriginal child-protection advocate Melanie James, noting that the proceedings had not concluded at that point; and
- Discretionary or ex-gratia payments involving carers or former carers, including matters subsequently scrutinised through Parliament and Budget Estimates.

Significant public-interest reporting

The need for independent scrutiny is reinforced by a series of serious matters reported publicly during 2026, including:

7 February 2026: ABC News reported NSW Ombudsman findings that approximately two-thirds of reports concerning children assessed as being at risk of significant harm were not investigated, with almost 245,000 credible reports received in the preceding financial year.
11 March 2026: ABC News reported that two foster children had been living in a Western Sydney home with convicted triple killer Regina Arthurell. The Minister stated that DCJ had known about the situation for months.
18 March 2026: ABC News reported that the NSW Government paid $700 to facilitate Arthurell leaving the home.
April 2026: further scrutiny arose concerning DCJ staff conduct and identified shortcomings in departmental processes.
June 2026: public reporting raised questions concerning the circumstances surrounding the removal of former Children’s Guardian Steve Kinmond and subsequent legislative changes.
July 2026: serious media reporting raised further questions concerning child deaths, Working with Children Checks, carer arrangements, expenditure and the handling of child-protection risks.
2026: NSW Ombudsman findings reported that approximately two-thirds of reports concerning children at risk of significant harm were not being investigated, frequently because there was no capacity to allocate the matter.
2 September 2026: reporting of a NSW Ombudsman investigation revealed that more than one third of prenatal child protection reports were closed without allocation to a caseworker, raising further questions about resourcing, early intervention and the administration of statutory child protection responsibilities.

THE REQUEST

The inquiry should examine:

-Child safety and placement practices;
-Residential care and alternative care arrangements;
-The treatment and safety of Aboriginal children and families;
-Carer recruitment, retention and support;
-Children absent from authorised placements or whose whereabouts are unknown;
-Allegations of abuse, neglect and reportable conduct involving children in care;
-Workforce shortages, workloads, psychological injury and staff safety;

-Expenditure of public funds and value for money;
-Complaints, whistleblowing, advocacy and allegations of retaliation against people raising child-safety concerns;
-The effectiveness and independence of existing oversight and accountability mechanisms;
-Executive decision-making, governance and accountability within DCJ;
-The adequacy of ministerial oversight of the child protection and out-of-home care systems; and
legislative, regulatory, structural and funding reforms required to ensure children are protected.

The petitioners further request that the inquiry have appropriate powers to call witnesses, compel the production of relevant documents and records, receive confidential evidence from children, families, carers, current and former staff and whistleblowers, and make recommendations for legislative and systemic reform.

The petitioners request the NSW Parliament to establish, an urgent independent parliamentary inquiry into the NSW child protection and OOHC system, including the administration and performance of the Department of Communities and Justice, Minister and relevant oversight and funded bodies.

The people of New South Wales entrust the State with extraordinary powers when it intervenes in the lives of children and families. With extraordinary power must come extraordinary accountability.

Families, carers and workers who raise legitimate concerns need confidence that they can speak without fear. The people of New South Wales deserve confidence that public money, public institutions and statutory powers are being used for their fundamental purpose:

To keep children safe.