The Northern Territory's child protection system is failing to keep many children safe after they are removed from their families, a new report says, with high rates of harm, repeated incidents, major investigation delays and poor oversight all prevalent.
A scathing report released by the Office of the NT Children's Commissioner, led by Shahleena Musk, found nearly one in three children in out-of-home care (OOHC) were the subject of at least one alleged harm notification in 2024-25 — more than double the previous year.
Almost a quarter of children in care had multiple harm notifications during the same period.
The overwhelming majority of the children were Aboriginal.
Only one of 75 substantiated harm investigations reviewed by the Commissioner was completed within the required 42-day timeframe, while just one of 10 Priority 1 investigations — the most urgent category — commenced within 24 hours.
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A failing system
Children in OOHC have often experienced significant levels of trauma and adversity, said Commissioner Musk, a Larrakia woman and former crown prosecutor in the NT and Western Australia.
"The data analysed in this report shows a high proportion of children in care are not safe in care: too often they are harmed by the very people entrusted to care for them," she said.
The report describes the Department of Children and Families' compliance with its own response timeframes as almost non-existent, leaving some children in unsafe placements for extended periods.
In 28 per cent of cases reviewed in 2024-25, and 35 per cent in 2023-24, the person found responsible for the harm was the child's carer.
The report also raised serious concerns about compliance and performance monitoring, the continued use of placement models previously recommended for phase-out, and ongoing shortcomings in the Department's ability to collect reliable data, monitor risks and evaluate its own performance.
"It is of significant concern to me that the Department of Children and Families continue to experience serious failures in quality data capture, reporting and performance management in their response to alleged harm to children in care," Commissioner Musk said.
"The Government and the Department must act on them as a priority."
Commissioner Musk's report concluded if the NT Government removes a child from their family, it must be able to demonstrate that the child is kept safe.
"Removing a child from their family is one of the most significant decisions the state can make," she said. "The system must be able to demonstrate that children placed in care are kept safe, supported and protected from further harm."
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The latest Closing the Gap data shows Indigenous children are more than 11 times as likely to be placed in OOHC as non-Indigenous children. More than 90 per cent of child protection notifications in the NT involve Indigenous children.
Whole-of-government failure
The report comes as the NT Government enacts sweeping changes to the child protection system in the wake of the horrific death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby.
Last month, the NT Government announced the Care and Protection of Children Act would be amended, claiming a new Universal Principle would "for the first time" list the safety of the child "as the primary consideration, placing the best interests of every child first, regardless of background".
The Act, in its current form, does not disregard the rights of children based on race. Rather, the legislation states its primary objective is to "promote the wellbeing of children, including: to protect children from harm and exploitation..."
Critics say the changes will water down the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP). Currently, data shows only 17 per cent of Indigenous children aged 0-17 in out-of-home care in the NT are placed with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relative or kin — the lowest rate in the country.
Labor's child protection spokesperson, Chansey Paech, told National Indigenous Times last month: "This is not an Aboriginal failure, this is a systems failure, a government failure. We need to fix the system, not blame people."
SNAICC - National Voice for our Children chief executive Catherine Liddle said changes to the system were "urgently needed", arguing there had been "advocates, community-led organisations, multiple reports, and people with lived experience of the Territory's system calling for action and investment for decades".
However, an inquiry into the system, to be undertaken by two non-Indigenous public servants, will take several months and has been described as too narrow. The NT Chief Minister has said legislative changes will proceed even before the review is complete.
