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Child protection

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Melanie James is calling for all members of the NSW Band Association to have working with children checks after she said she was groomed as a young teenager by a member 32 years her senior.

At four, Melanie played the Opera House. By 13, the grooming had allegedly started

Melanie James says the grooming and sexual abuse allegedly committed by a bandmate 32 years her senior was known about by other band members who did nothing to help.

  • Amber Schultz

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Cleveland Dodd died after being held in Unit 18. His mother Nadene Dodd wants to ensure change is made. Picture: WAtoday

‘Matter of urgency’: Coroner calls for closure of WA youth prison unit

Coroner Philip Urquhart called for the justice department to be stripped of its role overseeing young people.

  • Aaron Bunch
A 16-year-old girl alleges her residential care unit is like “jail” after being removed from her foster parents over an allegation she says is untrue.

The 16-year-old, the sex abuse allegation and the $3k-a-day accommodation

When Kate sent a terrifying message to her friends one evening, things rapidly spiralled out of control.

  • Amber Schultz
Illustration: Joe Benke

Too young for TikTok, old enough for jail: How a meaner Australia treats its kids

Two worrying but contradictory laws affecting children passed last week in Queensland and Canberra. Both arose despite a lack of evidence to support them.

  • Sean Kelly
A scathing review of NSW’s out-of-home-care system has found it is “not fit for purpose”

Claims of double-charging and excessive rent in NSW child protection system

Following stinging critiques of NSW’s child protection system, a widespread review found out-of-home care was “not fit for purpose” and lacked accountability and oversight.

  • Michael McGowan
There has been a surge in educators being accused of serious offences, according to the teaching watchdog’s annual report.

Seven guilty as abuse allegations against teachers surge 70 per cent

The teachers’ union and children’s commissioner are at odds over the big increase in complaints, with the former claiming many of the reports are frivolous.

  • Caroline Schelle
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A man and a woman are on trial over the emaciated condition of their daughter whose age they lied about.

Floreat mother denies she was concerned about emaciated daughter: court

The woman at the centre of a trial over the alleged malnourishment of her teenage daughter has been accused of cutting off family members who raised concerns about the girl.

  • Rebecca Peppiatt
700,000 Australians live in childcare deserts where there is little or no access to ECEC.

The four-year-old who helped snare an abusive daycare worker

The child’s mother has joined a chorus of parents calling for more to be done to protect children after a spate of incidents at daycare centres.

  • Amber Schultz
Liana Buchanan, Victoria’s Commissioner for Children and Young People.

Victoria spent $3 million moving alleged 12-year-old killer between homes

A 12-year-old girl in the child protection system went missing hundreds of times and was moved to 10 unsafe temporary homes before she was accused of stabbing a woman to death in Footscray.

  • Kieran Rooney
Since 2020, Victoria’s families department has received 66 reports of deaths from children inside or known to the child-protection system.

66 dead children, 5400 abuse claims: State’s child-protection system under blowtorch

The statistics covering the past four years have been reported as calls intensify for reform, particularly from the Indigenous community.

  • Kieran Rooney

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/topic/child-protection-1n7y