More than 30,000 notifications of harm to Territory kids in a single year

Rates of sexual abuse to Territory children has increased as a new report reveals skyrocketing notifications of harm to Territory Families.

The number of Territory kids allegedly neglected and abused has skyrocketed according to the children’s watchdog.

The Office of the Children’s Commission annual report said more than 30,500 notifications of harm were reported to the Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities in the 2021-22 financial year, up from 28,304 the previous year.

The report said the number of notifications equated to an average of 45 per cent of Territory children had at least one child protection notification last financial year.

It showed more than 70 per cent of the reports were related to emotional abuse and neglect, but also 10 per cent were for sexual harm to a child.

Territory Families, which is required to investigate reports of harm, found 1710 of those claims to be justified with 60 per cent of them related to domestic or family violence.

The report said 1661 children experienced multiple incidents of harm within the same year.

In another recently released annual report, the Northern Territory Child Deaths’ Review and Prevention Committee showed 101 child deaths between 2017 and 2021 were kids known to Territory Families.

Thirty-five of those kids aged between 10 and 17 years old died due to external factors defined in the report as “dysfunction as a result of domestic violence, alcohol and other drugs, mental illness, or involvement in the criminal justice system”.

A Territory Families spokesman said mandatory reporting obligations in the NT were driving up harm notifications to the intake team.

“Many of the notifications do not meet this harm definition,” the department spokesman said.

“This is why there is always a difference between the numbers of notifications recorded to the number of investigations commenced.”

HARM TERRITORY KIDS EXPERIENCED:

Of the 30,500 notifications, a third were “screened out” and no further action was taken.

It is Territory Families policy to complete investigations within 42 days, yet the OCC found

less than a third of investigations were completed by deadline.

Acting Children’s Commissioner Nicole Hucks found 23 children living in out-of-home care experienced harm, of which 30 per cent were for sexual exploitation of the child.

The report showed 75 per cent of harm occurred while the child was in state-based care including residential, purchased home-based care, foster care or detention.

“While it is good news that there were fewer Territory children living in out-of-home care in June 2022 … there are improvements needed to keep Aboriginal children connected with their family, language and culture,” Ms Hucks said.

“Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data shows that more than 60 per cent of NT children are still not being placed in accordance with the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principals, and over half of Aboriginal children in care do not have cultural support plans.”

MOSTLY ABORIGINAL KIDS REMOVED:

The report showed Aboriginal children were overrepresented in the child protection system, making up 91 per cent of kids in care and 95 per cent of kids in detention.

“So there’s been a focus on reunification of children, obviously the majority of children in out-of-home care in the Territory are Aboriginal kids,” Ms Hucks said

“There is no Aboriginal family-led decision making programs in the Territory. There is not one program that the department delivers that ensures that Aboriginal family-led decision making is achieved.”

Ms Hucks said Australia had a history of removing Aboriginal children that continued to impact families in the child protection system.

“There’s always that influence of that history that we have in this country,” she said.

“Where Aboriginal people aren’t at the centre of decision making about their children, and they’re not given the opportunity for self-determination around what is in the best interest of their children without influence from statutory authority.”

A Territory Families spokesman said the department prioritised working with families to keep children safe and at home.

He said reforms had taken place since 2016, including the implementation of the Aboriginal Cultural Security framework, Signs of Safety, and the Safe and Together model to support family-led decision making and practical solutions for child safety.

He said funding to Family Support Service network and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and getting department staff embedded in their communities had resulted in the “gradual reduction in the number of children entering out-of-home care”.

The annual report highlighted two times the Acting Children’s Commissioner was notified under the legal obligations of Territory Families.

“There were two cases of substantiated harm (in out-of-home care) which were not reported to the OCC within the legislative requirements,” the report reads.

A Territory Families spokesman said before a notification was sent to the OCC, the incident report needed to be considered by a department panel, meaning there was a deadline of September 1 for the annual report.

He said the two incidents occurred just after the cut-off date.

COMPLAINTS ABOUT YOUTH DETENTION:

Of the 441 complaints made to the Children’s Commission last year, 83 per cent were in relation to youth detention.

As a result Ms Hucks’ office commenced an investigation into the treatment of children inside Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, alongside an audit of children under 14 being detained.

The investigation into Don Dale is yet to be finalised but the annual report said it related to “systemic issues and was initiated after a large number of complaints were raised about concerns for the wellbeing of children during February 2021 and October 2021”.

Recorded increases in the number of children exposed to detention were said to be “of extreme concern to the Office of the Children’s Commission” particularly given the increased number of younger children in this cohort.

The OCC also conducted a sample audit of child protection history for 27 children aged under 14 years entering Territory detention.

In total, 691 notifications of harm about these 27 children were made to Territory Families across their childhood.

The department found 56 of them to be proven cases of harm, with one child having eight instances of substantiated harm.

Almost all the children had experienced neglect and almost 90 per cent were victims of domestic or family violence.

“Australia is a signatory to International conventions which state that children should be in detention only as a last resort, and for the minimum time possible,” Ms Hucks said.

“Steadily rising numbers of children locked up in the Territory, coupled with rising numbers of complaints received by the OCC regarding the treatment of children in detention show the urgent need for commitment to evidence-based practice when comes to youth justice.”

The report also detailed concerns about the use of separation inside detention centres which was this week labelled “solitary confinement” by the United Nations’ Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture after they visited Don Dale in late October.

The Children’s Commission report shows 72 young people were separated 201 times over the past year, an act described as “at odds with therapeutic models of care” in their annual report.

In June the NT News reported Ms Hucks had written to the Territory’s Chief Minister Natasha Fyles with “grave concerns” for the wellbeing of four children who had been “separated” in their cells for more than 72 hours resulting in serious self-harm.

The report showed an almost 100 per cent increase in the average number of children remanded to detention, up from 46 to 85.

On Thursday in federal parliament, Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe and David Shoebridge gave notice to introduce the Close Don Dale Youth Detention Centre Bill 2023.

Senator Shoebridge said every child deserved a chance to be supported and grow up safe and strong with family and community.

“Right now Australia is condemning yet another generation of First Nations’ children to lives scarred by the trauma of institutional abuse,” he said.

“Knowing what we know, failure to shut Don Dale is a breach of Australia’s international obligations to respect the rights of children and protect them from harm.”