Child and family

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4. Intake phase
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5. Notifications

Graphs

Number of notifications and children subject to a notification, Queensland, 2015-16 to 2019-20

Rate of children subject to a notification, per 1,000 children aged 0-17 years, by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status, Queensland, 2015-16 to 2019-20

Proportion of notifications, by primary source, Queensland, 2019-20

Proportion of children subject to a notification, by age group, Queensland, 2019-20

Tables

Table notes

What is a notification?

A notification is recorded when child protection information received suggests a child may be in need of protection.

Children and young people in need of protection are those who have suffered significant harm, are suffering significant harm, or are at unacceptable risk of suffering significant harm and do not have a parent able and willing to protect them from the harm.

When a notification is recorded, the department must investigate and assess the concerns.

Why this topic is important

Abuse in an action against a child that causes harm. Harm refers to detrimental effect of a significant nature on the child's physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing. Harm can be caused by physical, psychological or emotional abuse, or neglect, or sexual abuse or exploitation.

These types of harm can often occur together and can have a significant and detrimental effect on a child's emotional and/or physical health, development and wellbeing.

If the information received by our department indicates that an unborn child may be at risk of significant harm after they are born and they will not have a parent able and willing to protect them from harm, a notification will be recorded.

Trends

In 2019-20, the department recorded 26,474 notifications relating to 23,273 children. The number of notifications increased by 4.3 per cent from 25,381 in 2018-19 to 26,474 in 2019-20.

The number of children subject to notifications increased by 2.2 per cent, from 22,767 children in 2018-19 to 23,273 children in 2019-20.

In 2019-20, the number of non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children subject to a notification was 15,447, an increase of 9.6 per cent from 14,098 in 2015-16. The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children subject to a notification has increased by 34.2 per cent over the same period, from 5,832 in 2015-16 to 7,826 in 2019-20.