Cape York Institute has urged the Queensland Government to put parental responsibility and community-led prevention at the centre of its response to the state's child safety crisis.

The institute has warned the government's initial response to the Child Safety Commission of Inquiry Report focuses largely on managing children after harm has occurred rather than addressing the conditions contributing to family breakdown.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman and Cape York Institute CEO Kirsty Davis said strengthening the authority and responsibility of families was essential to preventing Indigenous children from entering care.

Ms Davis said child safety measures must begin within the family home.

"Focussing on parental responsibility has to be the ultimate form of prevention," she said.

"The home must be where we start to keep children safe.

"Upholding parental responsibility must be the expectation."

The state government's response has included measures aimed at reducing the use of residential care, strengthening cooperation between agencies and moving more children into foster care or adoption.

The institute supports the government's commitment to making the best interests of children paramount but believes the approach must be matched with measures that enforce parental obligations and rebuild family capability.

Queensland is now responding to its third major child safety inquiry since the Forde Inquiry nearly 30 years ago, with the institute warning the system will continue to deteriorate without stronger early intervention.

Ms Davis linked the continuing problems to a failure to address parental responsibility following previous inquiries.

"If we don't strengthen parental responsibility, the problem will keep worsening as it has since the Forde and Carmody Inquiries," she said.

"Everyone agrees that a child should be safe at home, with loving family protecting them."

The institute has called for the Family Responsibilities Commission to play a greater role in preventing children from reaching the point where they are removed from their families.

Local Commissioners can call parents to conferencing when Child Safety receives a notification or when there are concerns involving domestic violence, tenancy breaches or poor school attendance.

They can also place parents on income management, which restricts welfare payments from being spent on alcohol and drugs.

Ms Davis said the commission needed to be supported by services that helped families address the causes of harm.

"The FRC is a lever... it is not the whole solution," he said.

"There must be in-community capability-building opportunities, like parenting programs, financial literacy supports, drug and alcohol treatment."

The institute has also called for alcohol and gambling controls to be treated as part of child protection policy across Cape York.

It cited Queensland Police data showing 1,142 women and children were recorded as assault victims in discrete Cape York communities during 2025.

A further 513 women and girls had been recorded as victims by late June 2026.

Ms Davis said alcohol and passive welfare dependency were contributing to family violence and instability.

"The State must hold the line on grog," she said.

"It is the greatest cause of family dysfunction and harm to women and children.

"Grog is a major organiser of dysfunction and, in combination with passive welfare dependency, is a central driver of Cape York's child safety catastrophe."

The institute also pointed to unemployment rates of up to 80 to 85 per cent in some Cape York communities and called for greater access to education and employment.

It said government funding remained concentrated on responses after children had already experienced harm rather than programs that could strengthen families earlier.

Ms Davis said stable employment and education opportunities were central to keeping families together.

"Education and work opportunity are the great family stabilisers," she said.

"But in remote places in Cape York, government is failing to provide these foundational obligations.

"Government investment is wrong-ended, too focussed downstream once the damage has been done."

Cape York Institute has offered to work with the Queensland Government to develop reforms based on parental responsibility, locally led intervention, family support, alcohol controls and employment opportunities.

Ms Davis called for alcohol and gambling controls, the Family Responsibilities Commission and access to work to be treated as connected child protection measures.

"The Queensland Government must hold the line on alcohol and gambling controls, rebuild early responsibility systems like the FRC, and guarantee real work and opportunity so families at the bottom can stabilise and raise their children safely," she said.

"Treat alcohol and gambling as child protection issues, not lifestyle choices."

"The FRC is one of the few locally led serious responsibility-based mechanisms that can act before late-stage interventions like removal and detention."

The institute wants the commission strengthened and expanded across Cape York to help families address problems before children enter care or the youth justice system.