Cost-of-living crunch linked to rise in child neglect

A top government adviser on child safety has linked rising poverty with increased reporting of abuse and neglect, with one in every 20 Australian children reported to be involved in such cases.

A child safety expert has called for more affordable housing, family counselling and detox services to help struggling families and avoid children being taken into foster care. Picture: iStock

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Australia’s cost-of-living crisis has been linked to a record 307,022 child abuse and neglect notifications, which surged nearly 12 per cent over the past two years of high inflation, rents and interest rates.

State and territory child safety agencies were swamped with notifications reporting the equivalent of one in every 20 Australian children for suspected abuse or neglect in 2023-24, Productivity Commission data shows.

Taxpayers spent $8.7bn on intervention and foster care for children last financial year – but less than $1bn on family support services.

A top government adviser on child safety has linked rising poverty with increased reporting of abuse and neglect, and warned that too many parents are being punished instead of given help.

Australian Centre for Child Protection director Leah Bromfield said it was “disgraceful’’ that children were being taken from families who are homeless.

She said government agencies must provide more housing, domestic violence support, affordable mental health services and drug and alcohol rehabilitation to keep children safe.

“The prevalence of abuse and neglect is occurring in a context of housing and cost-of-living pressures, and a lack of capacity in adult services like mental health, drug and alcohol services as well as the ongoing epidemic of domestic violence,’’ she said.

Professor Bromfield warned there is such a shortage of affordable housing that child safety departments are now unable to reunite foster children with their birth families.

“The cost of living and the housing crisis have inflamed the issue for child safety, because everything is more pressured,’’ she said.

“Families that were already struggling have tipped into needing services and supports.

“It was already hard to find a rental property, but now you’ve got no chance because there are other people who’ve been pushed into low-cost housing, and they look more attractive on a rental application.’’

Professor Leah Bromfield, the SA Australian of the Year, has called for better supports to help struggling parents so children can thrive. Picture: Ben Clark

Professor Bromfield, who led the research team for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, is Australian of the Year for South Australia.

She co-chairs the federal government’s National Strategy for Preventing and Responding to Child Sexual Abuse.

The post-pandemic surge in child safety notifications coincides with two years of high inflation, rising rents and 12 interest rate rises that doubled average mortgage repayments.

Notifications of child abuse and neglect jumped 11.6 per cent between 2021-22 and 2023-24.

During the same period, inflation rose 15.9 per cent, based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data, while rents rose 8.1 per cent in 2023 and 4.8 per cent in 2024, based on CoreLogic data.

A spokeswoman for the Foodbank charity said one in five households with children were “severely food insecure’’, meaning families are “skipping meals or going entire days without eating’’.

“In terms of what is contributing to their dire circumstances, some 79 per cent of food insecure households with children cite the cost-of-living crisis,’’ she said.

The Productivity Commission data shows child safety agencies failed to investigate two-thirds of notifications last financial year, when they substantiated 56,797 cases of child abuse and neglect.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children make up 44 per cent of the 44,866 children taken from their families and placed in out-of-home care with foster ­carers or relatives.

Professor Bromfield said an analysis of child protection reports in SA had found the “toxic trio’’ of mental illness, drug or alcohol addiction and family violence were often to blame.

“Across the health and welfare sector, we are just so stretched in terms of support services,’’ she said. “It’s very, very hard to get into rehab or mental health services, even if you had the money.

“What you see is a rationing of services; we’re prioritising for the most imminent risk and that means we’ve missed all the optimal windows for support and help.

“We blame parents … it’s your fault you haven’t found a house, it’s your fault you haven’t been to drug and alcohol counselling even though you’ve been on the list for six months.’’

Record numbers of child safety notifications were lodged last financial year, reporting suspected abuse and neglect.

Taxpayers spent between $97,790 in Tasmania to $183,785 in the Northern Territory to place one child in out-of-home care for a year, the PC data shows.

In contrast, it cost just $11,403 per child to provide intensive family support, which can include family counselling, drug and alcohol counselling, anger management, mediation, domestic vio­lence support, financial assistance and respite and emergency care.

Professor Bromfield said that in families with the most reports of child abuse and neglect, it was common that the parents had their first child before turning 20, and experienced multiple separations and re-partnering.

She said Australia should consider adopting a British program that encourages long-term contraception for struggling mothers until they can get “back on track’’.

“I’m not talking about mandating contraception – we’ve been down that pathway for mums with disability and we all agree that was a violation of human rights,’’ she said.

“But part of the intervention is talking about contraception, and delaying pregnancy with a plan to help mum get back on track. If we were supporting those young parents who’ve had histories of violence, abuse and neglect – who are really kids themselves – that starts to create a generational change.’’

Professor Bromfield said domestic violence is “not just a women’s issue”.

“In child protection files, I’ve seen repeatedly that if we fail to address men’s violence and instead focus solely on rescuing women, that men who use violence re-partner and perpetuate the cycle in new family groups,’’ she said.

Many mothers are afraid to seek help for domestic violence or a partner’s drug abuse, she said, because they feared being reported to child protection services.

“As a parent, I’d prefer to spend a year in prison than have my child removed permanently from my care,’’ she said. “That’s a terrifying law … why aren’t we having a discussion about the invasion of civil liberties?

“The problem is so big and we are reporting all concerns of abuse, neglect and safety to child protection without differentiating between parents who are acting protectively – when they are between a rock and a hard place, or seeking help – and parents who are acting with intent or who have demonstrated that they can’t or won’t change.’’