In care, children and young people will have the supports they need to enjoy their childhood, feel safe and cared for, and develop into adulthood.
Children requiring care and ongoing support
Children requiring care and ongoing support
Ongoing support
Ongoing support by the department is required when it has been determined that a child is in need of protection. When ongoing support is required, a case plan is developed in conjunction with the child and their family.
The department may intervene through the use of a child protection order, or intervention with parental agreement (IPA). The child may also be removed from their home to ensure their safety.
To obtain a child protection order, the department will make a recommendation to the Director of Child Protection Litigation, an independent agency within the Department of Justice and Attorney-General that handles child protection legal matters.
The Director of Child Protection Litigation will consider the department's information and decide whether to apply to the Childrens Court for a child protection order, and the type of order required.
The types of child protection orders that can be granted by the Childrens Court include:
short-term child protection orders (directive, supervision, custody to the chief executive or a suitable person who is a member of the child's family, short term guardianship to the chief executive) or
long-term child protection order (guardianship to the chief executive, a relative of the child or another suitable person) or
permanent care order.
Entering care
While children receive ongoing support, the department sometimes needs to remove a child from their home to ensure their safety.
A child may be removed from their home during the investigation and assessment phase, or while the department is providing ongoing support. Removing a child from their home is a means of providing for the child’s safety, belonging and wellbeing and to ensure their ongoing needs are met.
When a child is placed in the custody or guardianship of the chief executive (Director-General) of the department, it is the department's responsibility to find an appropriate care arrangement for the child.
The department uses various care arrangements for the children in its care including family-based care (foster, kinship and provisionally approved carers) and residential care services. Wherever possible, the department seeks to place a child with extended family (kinship carers) in order to maintain family connections.
Children admitted to a child protection order
Source: Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services.
What is being counted
Data is for the year ending the reference date (12 months of data).
Counts the number of children admitted to child protection orders in the reference period.
If a child is the subject to more than one admission to a child protection order, the child is counted only once in the reference period.
Age group: Based on the age of the child as at the reference date.
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
Child protection order: A child protection order is an order made by the Childrens Court under the Child Protection Act 1999, when a child is assessed to be in need of protection. There are different types of child protection orders, depending on a child and family's situation, including directive orders, supervision orders, custody orders and guardianship orders.
Children entering care
Source: Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services.
What is being counted
Data is for the year ending the reference date (12 months of data).
Counts the number of children admitted into care. If a child entered care more than once within the reference period, the child is counted only once.
Age group: Based on the age of the child as at the reference date.
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
Children in care: The provision of care outside the family home to children who are in need of protection or who require a safe placement while their protection and safety needs are assessed. In accordance with nationally agreed reporting definitions, data for children in care refers to children placed with kin, other home-based carers or residential care services.
Foster care: Includes children living with a foster carer or a provisionally approved carer where no family relationship exists between carer and child.
Kinship care: Includes children living with a kinship carer, and children living with a foster carer or provisionally approved carer where a family relationship exists between the carer and child.
Residential care: Includes children living in non-family-based accommodation and support services funded by the department to provide care arrangements for children, generally aged 12 years and over. These services provide daily care and support for children by rostered residential care workers.
Children admitted to a child protection order, children entering care - Rates per 1,000
Source: Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services.
What is being counted
Child protection data is for the year ending the reference date (12 months of data).
Children admitted to a child protection order:Counts the number of children admitted to child protection orders in the reference period. If a child is the subject to more than one admission to a child protection order, the child is counted only once.
Children entering care: Counts the number of children admitted into care. If a child entered care more than once within the reference period, the child is counted only once.
Rate per thousand: Counts the number of children on a child protection order or children entering care divided by the population of children and young people aged 0-17 years of age. Population data is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and is based on estimated resident population for Queenslanders aged 0-17 years, as at 30 June of the previous year.
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
Children in care: The provision of care outside the family home to children who are in need of protection or who require a safe placement while their protection and safety needs are assessed. In accordance with nationally agreed reporting definitions, data for children in care refers to children placed with kin, other home-based carers or residential care services.
Child protection order: A child protection order is an order made by the Childrens Court under the Child Protection Act 1999, when a child is assessed to be in need of protection. There are different types of child protection orders, depending on a child and family's situation, including directive orders, supervision orders, custody orders and guardianship orders.
Time series notes
From June 2019: Estimated resident population data for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and young people in Queensland have been revised for all reference periods using rebased population estimates by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2016 Census based) sourced from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office. The size, structure and components of these estimates supersede those previously published by the ABS (2011 Census based).
From June 2023 - Estimated resident population data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in Queensland have been revised for all reference periods using rebased population estimates by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2021 Census based) sourced from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office. The size, structure and components of these estimates supersede those previously published by the ABS (2016 Census based).
