Qld’s lost children revealed: Hundreds missing in state care

Hundreds of Queensland children in state-sanctioned residential care are currently missing from the system, with the government launching an emergency audit to find them.

Hundreds of Queensland kids are missing from state-sanctioned care.

Hundreds of Queensland children in state-sanctioned residential care are currently missing from the system, with the government launching an emergency audit to find them and get their lives back on track.

It can also be revealed a majority of residential care providers in Queensland are “unlicensed” and are not bound to strict child protection laws, nor monitored or audited by state authorities.

It’s an issue Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm has branded a “clear system failure”.

There are 12,705 children under state care through the foster, kinship, or residential care system and the state government has shockingly revealed they have no idea where 780 of those children are living.

It’s because these children have removed themselves from their placement — a move known as “self-placing”-- and it means the Department of Child Safety does not know if they are homeless, or potentially living with dangerous persons.

“Allowing one vulnerable child to self-place in Queensland is unacceptable to me, let alone 780 young people, that’s why I have ordered a full audit of the kids in care who are self-placing, what support they are receiving and where they are,” she said.

“It is vital we have an understanding of how we can better support these vulnerable children to get their lives back on track and if they have a youth justice crossover.”

Paul Anastassiou KC.

It comes as a landmark Commission of Inquiry into the broken child safety system headed by Paul Anastassiou KC gets underway in Brisbane on Wednesday, investigating failures of the system.

Queensland has the largest population of children in residential care nationally, with the latest data revealing the number had surged to 2093 in September 2024 up from 950 in 2019.

In addition to the emergency audit, the government has also launched a review into how contracts are awarded to residential care providers after finding a majority were “unlicensed”.

Unlicensed providers are those not held to the strict conditions of the state’s Child Protection laws. Their performance is not monitored nor their finances audited by the Child Safety Department.

A total of 110 unlicensed residential care providers received $474.3m of funding from the state government in 2024/25. These were largely for-profit providers.

There are only 36 licenced providers of residential care in Queensland.

“The residential care sector is a billion-dollar industry built on the back of vulnerable children with taxpayers’ money, it is critical there is oversight and these organisations know that if they do not perform the Government will act,” Ms Camm said.

“It is critical we take the necessary steps to fix issues when they are uncovered to ensure children are being adequately taken care of.

“There are some extraordinary people who work in the child safety sector, who go above and beyond for vulnerable children and I’m certain they want what’s best for them.”

Ms Camm confirmed the 17-month Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety would also assess the eligibility and legitimacy of residential care providers.

The Inquiry will submit its final report and recommendations to government in November 2026.