The blue card system was introduced in 2001 to address widespread community concerns about the number of children who had been exposed to significant levels of abuse in service environments intended to promote their safety and wellbeing. The system was further strengthened on 31 May 2006 to include screening requirements for foster and kinship carers...

On 12 November 2012, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that she would be recommending to the Governor-General the establishment of a Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse in Australia.

Following the release of a study exploring the feasibility of linking three community-sector data collections, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare was funded to link child protection, juvenile justice and Supported Accommodation Assistance Program data. This report describes the process used to link these collections. The analysis of the linked data is in a...

This report provides further evidence of the relationships between child abuse and neglect, homelessness and criminal activity. Current research demonstrates relationships between child abuse and neglect, homelessness and criminal activity. This report presents key findings from analysis of a data set linking three community-sector data collections: Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP), juvenile justice supervision, and...

This paper reviews the research on whether some family structures expose children to a higher risk of child maltreatment than others. It aims to assist practitioners and policy-makers who work with children and families to make evidence-informed decisions.