One Queensland child referred to DOCS every four minutes

AS the State Government confirms two little girls who died after being left in a hot car were known to authorities, the Child Safety Minister has revealed horrifying figures about just how many children are being referred to her department.

A CHILD is referred to the Department of Child Safety for investigation every four minutes, as Queensland sees an explosion in the number of kids being taken into care in the past year.

Child Safety Minister Di Farmer revealed the shocking details after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed the two girls who died in Logan on Saturday had been known to the Department of Child Safety.

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She also announced an independent, external review would be undertaken into the handling of the case – separate to the Department’s internal Child Death Review - to be headed by Queensland Family and Child Commissioner Cheryl Vardon.

The inquiry’s terms of reference were on Monday still being worked on and the Government has said it will be up to Ms Vardon whether she releases her findings publicly.

Both the Premier and Ms Farmer would not be drawn on what reports had been made to child safety officers or whether any of those related to complaints about the children having earlier been left in cars.

“This is a murder investigation and I don’t want to say anything that is going to prejudice that. Those babies deserve justice,” she said.

However she did reveal a horror snapshot of a child safety crisis in which there has been a shocking rise in numbers of children in care thanks to drug-addled parents, as more and more people come forward with their concerns for children’s welfare.

Locals place flowers and gifts outside a home where two children died in a car. Picture: Annette Dew

“I can say to you more generally, we receive referrals for 121,000 children every year,” she said.

“That is one every four minutes and the referrals we are getting are more and more complex.

“The number of kids we’ve had to take into care in the last year alone is double what it was in the previous year.”

There were 10,248 children living in care as at June 30 – 619 more than the previous 12 months.

That increase of 619 is more than double the expected annual increase based on historical rates.

There are a further 2400 children subject to ongoing intervention, 950 of which had one or more parents using methamphetamine, including ice.

“We have got 38 per cent of our kids now who have to be taken into care (that have) one or both parents are on ice and that’s a 30 per cent increase on the previous year,” Ms Farmer said.

Referrals were up more than 2600 on the previous year.