Six core issues plaguing Australia’s child protection and youth justice systems feature in dozens of inquiries over more than a decade, according to this report.

The report is based on analysis of over 3,000 recommendations from 61 state, territory and Commonwealth reports and inquiries into child protection and youth justice between 2010 and 2022.

The systemic issues repeatedly identified in reports over that 12-year period include inadequate levels of investment; inadequate levels of information sharing and collaboration; limited workforce capacity and support; a lack of mechanisms for oversight, monitoring and transparency; and limited opportunities for children to participate and be heard.

Key messages:

• Existing evidence suggests that investment in prevention provides the best opportunities for change in child protection and youth justice.
• Around one-fifth of all recommendations were focused on supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families at all stages of the child protection and youth justice system. This finding not only speaks to the over-representation of First Nations children and young people in out-of-home care and youth justice supervision but highlights the need to work in genuine partnership with First Nations children, families and communities to reduce this over-representation.
• The thematic analysis component of the study identified consistent repetition of 6 themes representing systems-level issues, showing that these core issues have not yet been successfully addressed by governments.
• There is a wealth of knowledge, insight and data on the services and supports that would be effective in reducing the contact that vulnerable children and young people have with child protection and youth justice.