What we achieve

Child safety focusses on engaging with families earlier and, where appropriate, keeping children safely at home.

Children who did not experience a further substantiation after their first substantiation

Effective and timely intervention is one of the key strategies for reducing the likelihood of a child experiencing future significant harm. This in turn is likely to reduce the need for the department to reassess a child’s care and protection needs (i.e. the re-entry of a child into the child protection system).

The proportion of children with a substantiated assessment outcome who are not the subject of a subsequent substantiation in the following three (3) or six (6) months provides an indication of the success of earlier departmental and funded service provider’s interventions in preventing further significant harm.

It is important to note there are often factors beyond the influence of the department, such as changes in family circumstances (for example, a new partner or illness) that affect if a child may be subject to a further substantiation.

A resubstantiation is also more likely to occur if a family did not have access to the right support services at the right time, in order to prevent future significant harm from occurring.

To help prevent a child’s entry and re-entry, the department funds prevention and early intervention services for families to ensure they have access to timely, culturally appropriate and effective support services.

Children who did not experience a further substantiation after their first substantiation

Source: Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs.

What is being counted

Reports the proportion of distinct children subject to a substantiation during the reference year who were not subject to a subsequent substantiation within the following three or six months of the first substantiation.
Non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: Includes non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and children whose Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status is unknown or not stated.

Definition notes

Substantiated: The outcome of an investigation and assessment where it is assessed that the child or young person has suffered, is suffering, or is at unacceptable risk of suffering future, significant harm.