Systems across Queensland are continuing to fail vulnerable children, the state's Indigenous children's commissioner has warned, citing punitive laws, rising demand and instability as key drivers.

The concerns are detailed in the 2025 Queensland Child Rights Report, released this week by the Office of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Commissioner, which found many children are entering the child protection system because families cannot access support early enough.

The report attributes this to increasing demand, instability for children already in care, and gaps in early family support.

Child Protection

While the rate of Indigenous children in out-of-home care (OOHC) in Queensland remains below the national average, it has steadily increased. First Nations children are now more than nine times as likely to be placed in OOHC, according to Productivity Commission data.

Despite making up about nine per cent of the state's child population, First Nations children account for nearly half of all children and young people in OOHC.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Commissioner Natalie Lewis argues stronger protection of children's rights is critical.

"Children's rights are human rights, and governments have a responsibility to protect them in law, policy and practice," she said. "Monitoring rights and how they are promoted and protected for our children gives us an objective and consistent test for policy and practice, with goal posts that don't shift."

The report also highlights how children move between multiple systems — including child protection, youth justice, education, housing and health — with government responses remaining fragmented. It calls for a whole-of-government Children's Plan for Queensland to better align policy, investment and accountability.

The findings come amid criticism of Queensland's data transparency, after the state failed to report child protection data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in January's Report on Government Services. The department described this as a "temporary situation" linked to a new client information system.

In February, Catherine Liddle questioned how the department could reach a point where it could not account for children in its care.

"The QLD department have dropped the ball on this one, and our children will end up paying the price," she said.

Last year, the Queensland government said the severe over-representation of Indigenous children in OOHC would be a central focus of a major inquiry into the state's "broken" child safety system. The ongoing, $20 million commission of inquiry, led by former Federal Court judge Paul Anastassiou KC, is examining the harm caused by the system.

Youth justice pressures

Queensland has also faced sustained criticism over youth justice, recording the highest number of Indigenous children and young people in custody nationally. Experts have linked this to tougher "adult crime, adult time" laws.

Of the 452 Indigenous children in detention on an average day in 2024-25, 207 were in Queensland. First Nations children are 27 times more likely to be incarcerated than non-Indigenous children and, while comprising less than 10 per cent of the youth population, account for 71 per cent of those in detention.

The report outlines significant disadvantage among young people in custody. One in five has been under a guardianship or permanent care order, 38 per cent have a parent who has been imprisoned, and 70 per cent have experienced domestic and family violence. More than 70 per cent have a suspected or diagnosed disability, while 47 per cent have a mental health disorder.

Youth Advocacy Centre CEO, Katherine Hayes, told National Indigenous Times last year "human rights in Queensland over the last three or four years have been decimated".

"Some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in Queensland, in particular children in the youth justice system, have been denied basic human rights over the last few years," she said. "This has led to a complete devaluation in Queensland of upholding human rights for those who need it the most."

Nearly 8,000 young people were held in watch houses in 2023-24, 59 per cent of them Indigenous, with an average time in unsentenced detention of 48 days.

"Forty-six nights I was in the watch-house. Like that's illegal. Like to me that should be illegal," one respondent to the report said.

Another said: "Even sleeping in the watch-house. You don't know if these c**** are going to come and they'll bash you or yeah, do something like that. Yeah. You've got no-one in there except for you."

Commissioner Lewis said the system is failing to address the underlying causes of youth offending.

"Most children who come into contact with youth justice have experienced trauma, poverty, instability, disability and unmet support needs," she said. "Punishment alone will never address those realities."

The report finds there is "no evidence of equity-driven or place-based analysis in the distribution of early intervention funding" and that the government has not outlined an "overarching investment model or strategic framework explaining how these programs link to broader justice system outcomes".

It also points to policy decisions that have prioritised punitive approaches, including laws that suspend the Human Rights Act and are expected to increase Indigenous youth incarceration.

"Evidence consistently shows that prevention, early intervention and community-based responses are far more effective in reducing reoffending and improving outcomes for children," Commissioner Lewis said.

She called for a statewide Children's Plan, describing it as a "clear statement of our ongoing responsibility for all children, now and into the future".

"Without cross-portfolio coordination and an overt commitment to embedding children's rights across every decision affecting their lives, meaningful systemic change will remain out of reach," Commissioner Lewis said.