Jack’s mother thought he was being looked after. He died desperate and alone

The day after his 18th birthday, Jack died in a fall from a cliff in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. He had been in the care of the state, under the parental responsibility of the overseeing minister, for the five years before his death, though his mother Renee says care isn’t the right word to describe Jack’s treatment.

Jack bounced between state-run group homes, hotels, and motels – some infested with mould and asbestos – and slept on the street. In one motel, he was allegedly assaulted by a carer. He stopped going to school, had minimal supervision and was exposed to drugs.

It’s a far cry from the care he was offered at home with Renee in Orange, where he went to a specialist school, had a part-time job, and saw a paediatric psychiatrist, or with her former partner, Mick, in Dubbo, where he had a job and apprenticeship.

Mick believes with proper support, Jack would be alive and thriving today.Credit: Kate Geraghty

Jack’s mother and former carer are demanding answers from the Department of Communities and Justice, its minister Kate Washington, and the private organisations to which the government outsourced his care.

Renee has requested that the family name and some details of Jack’s private life be omitted to respect his memory.

The Herald is publishing this piece to highlight the experience of the 15,000 children and young people in the child protection system, which the overseeing minister has labelled as “broken” and over which she has “limited visibility”.

Washington called the circumstances around Jack’s death “truly heartbreaking”.

“I extend my deepest sympathy to his family, loved ones and community. The death of this young man is a terrible tragedy – he had a right to feel supported and safe,” she said.

A Department of Communities and Justice spokesperson said a number of issues raised in this article “do not accurately reflect this incredibly complex matter” but did not elaborate.

‘It all went immediately downhill’

Those who knew Jack described him as “bright”, “charming”, “gentlemanly” and a born leader. He wanted to be a youth worker and loved mountain biking, fishing and going to the gym.

As a survivor of complex trauma, Jack struggled with his mental health, leading to interactions with police.

‘It was a gut-wrenching decision … It was the most painful thing I ever had to do.’

Renee on her son going into state care

In 2019, when Jack was 13, government caseworkers suggested that he be temporarily placed in state care away from Renee and his younger brother. Renee, feeling she had exhausted all other options, was told he would be cared for by professionals and supported to return home.

NSW Minister for Family and Communities Kate Washington.Credit: Peter Stoop

“It was a gut-wrenching decision, and not one taken lightly … It was the most painful thing I ever had to do,” she said.

But Renee said none of the promises were kept.

He was placed in a home so “dirty, with unpleasant odours that even the carers … refused to sleep the night,” Renee wrote in an email to DCJ.

In another motel-owned serviced accommodation, Jack alleged to Renee that a carer had thrown him against the wall and hurled a laptop against his head. Photos Renee took after the incident show blood splattered across the white motel sheets and a bruise on Jack’s head.

Jack in state-funded accommodation after allegedly being physically assaulted by a carer.

She also said DCJ didn’t tell her about Jack’s two suicide attempts in three months since entering care, or his 15-kilogram weight gain.

Renee also said Jack was unenrolled from his specialist school after caseworkers failed to lodge paperwork, that she found syringes in his bag, and that he said he drank beer that caseworkers left in the house fridge.

Jack’s relationship with his family deteriorated as caseworkers failed to take him to scheduled meet-ups: “I often left in tears, devastated as we missed out on spending time with Jack. This did little to assist in repairing an already fragile relationship,” Renee wrote in an email with DCJ.

‘A petri dish for the juvenile justice system’

After three years in state care, Jack’s mental health had worsened. In 2022, the government placed him in a 12-week emergency placement in a home in Inverell, 600 kilometres from Orange, run by private not-for-profit Pathfinders.

Jack was placed in a short-term emergency placement for children with complex needs, where other care arrangements have been exhausted.

Depending on the level of therapeutic intervention, organisations that provide residential care can be paid between $119,000 and $504,000 per child per year for these placements. A 2024 Ombudsman report found one in three children had a substantiated allegation of abuse while in residential care, but a shortage of caseworkers meant allegations were not fully investigated.

A DCJ staff member not authorised to speak to the media called forms of residential care a “Petri dish for the juvenile justice system” with no structure from workers.

Jack’s child protection counsellor raised “significant concerns” about the placement in a report sighted by the Herald, stating that none of the trauma-informed or therapeutic care advertised by the NGO was being delivered. She said in an email that the organisation was not meeting his needs, advising him to be returned to Orange “as soon as possible”.

As Jack’s schedule shrunk under the care of the state, he spent more time idling in places like the John Lomas Skate Park in Orange.Credit: Kate Geraghty

The move also discharged Jack from the mental health services and paediatric psychiatrist in Orange.

In emails to DCJ, Renee said Jack had been found unresponsive twice but not taken to the hospital; was given the incorrect psychotropic medication; was exposed to illicit drugs; and spent nights out of the home. Twice, he was admitted to the Acmena Youth Justice Centre at Grafton.

“My son was taken to an undisclosed location eight hours away, placed with men who don’t know [my] child, with no therapy, school or support,” Renee wrote in an email to DCJ.

A spokesperson from Pathfinders said the organisation couldn’t comment about specific clients. Children enrolled in the program received a “structured, fully supervised 24/7 routine that includes education and pursuit of a young person’s individual interests”, and remained DCJ’s responsibility.

The spokesperson was unaware of any report from a child protection officer, and protocol was to call an ambulance and notify DCJ in case of a medical emergency.

Neither DCJ nor Pathfinders responded to questions about Jack being found unresponsive.

On his return to the Central West, Jack’s care was outsourced to the multimillion-dollar social services charity Life Without Barriers.

The Life Without Barriers office in Orange, NSW.Credit: Kate Geraghty

Other children stole his belongings there, and he was again not enrolled in school. National Disability Insurance Paperwork was never lodged.

“They wouldn’t let him be a child,” Renee said.

In 2022, the company’s CEO, Claire Robbs, apologised after the Disability Royal Commission found the organisation had failed to prevent violence and abuse against residents in its group disability homes.

In 2023-24, Life Without Barriers made $845 million in revenue and other income. According to financial documents, just $93 million was spent on service delivery costs. According to job advertisements, youth workers are paid $36 per hour and can be TAFE students with relevant work experience.

Life Without Barriers declined to comment for this article.

‘I’m not burying another child’

When Jack moved in with Mick in late 2022, away from outsourced care, he started finding his feet. He began an apprenticeship and got a part-time job.

Child protection caseworkers’ assessments found his mother’s former partner was “totally dedicated to meeting all of Jack’s needs,” noting the pair had a “close bond”.

Mick was assessed as a suitable permanent placement option for Jack.

Jack and Mick at the gym. Multiple child protection caseworker reports found Jack was improving under Michael’s “patient” care, noting the bond between them.Credit: Kate Geraghty

Mick quit his job, sold shares in his businesses for cash, and completed multiple parenting and child psychology courses while waiting to be approved as a specialist carer and permanent placement option for Jack, who required 24/7 care. However, payments he said Life Without Barriers and DCJ promised never arrived.

Life Without Barriers denied ever making the promise but paid Mick a lump sum in January 2024 to recognise the “unacceptable delay” in completing his assessment.

One delay included a change made by DCJ to Jack’s assessment needs, rendering Mick’s application ineligible, only to reverse the decision months later.

‘I’m not burying another child … Jack would have kept trying to kill himself without proper help.’

Mick

Mick said the struggle of getting Jack regular funding support led to a deterioration in his mental health. Just days after Life Without Barriers acknowledged their failures, Jack attempted to take his life at Mick’s home.

Mick, who found Jack after the attempt and called an ambulance, said he couldn’t do it any more. Several years earlier, he had lost a son of his own in a car accident.

“I said, ‘I’m not burying another child,’” Mick said. “Jack would have kept trying to kill himself without proper help.”

‘We’ll be burying him within months’

After more stints in motels and temporary accommodation, Jack moved into an apartment in Orange rented by Life Without Barriers, where he lived alone.

Mick objected to Jack living in an apartment: “I said if you move him into a home by himself, we’ll be burying him within months,” Mick said. Renee wanted him at home.

With minimal supervision, no school, TAFE, or structure, Jack spent his time on trains and on the street, sometimes staying with a friend in Sydney.

‘[DCJ] are acting like my son had to die for them to learn a lesson.’

Renee

The friend’s mother, who spoke anonymously to protect her son, said Jack frequently arrived at her doorstep early in the morning from Orange. She suspected he spent the night at train stations. She said his clothes were often dirty, he didn’t travel with a toothbrush, and he was living off credits for fast-food restaurants.

“DCJ and Life Without Barriers were enabling him,” she said.

A body in the mountains

On his 18th birthday, Jack travelled to Hanging Rock in the Blue Mountains. He sent videos to friends of himself sitting on the rock face playing music. He appeared to be alone.

He died the day after that birthday, on October 31. Police discovered his body several days later. His death is not being treated as suspicious.

A DCJ staff member not authorised to speak to the media questioned whether anyone from Life Without Barriers or DCJ had discussed that supports remained in place for children in the state’s care after their 18th birthday, or whether staff planned to celebrate Jack’s milestone.

The entrance to the track leading to Hanging Rock in the Blue Mountains where Jack died, alone, the day after his 18th birthday.Credit: Kate Geraghty

Jack was farewelled at a ceremony attended by more than 100 friends and family who spoke of his loyalty, adventurousness and strong protective instincts.

He is buried in the Orange cemetery. His grave, adorned with flowers, angel statues and a rubber chicken, reads “Forever 18.”

No coronial inquest has been announced into Jack’s death to understand the failures that may have caused it.

Mick said DCJ never contacted him after Jack’s death.

Jack’s grave at the Orange Cemetery. Credit: Kate Geraghty

Renee said she has been told DCJ will review the case, but she won’t be privy to the details and was told it won’t lead to disciplinary action.

“They’re acting like my son had to die for them to learn a lesson,” she said.

Washington said: “It is highly premature for a DCJ staff member to tell a grieving mother that there would be no disciplinary action while the department is still conducting an internal review of Jack’s tragic death, and I apologise for the understandable distress this caused.

“The Minns Labor government is undertaking significant reforms to the child protection system, focused on improving safety, lifting accountability, and providing stability for vulnerable children and young people,” the minister for families and communities said.

Renee visits Jack’s grave daily.

If you or anyone you know needs help, call SANE on 1800 187 263 (and see sane.org), Lifeline on 13 11 14 (and see lifeline.org.au) or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 (and see beyondblue.org.au).

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.