A raft of measures have been announced to support Western Australia's Port Hedland community after child protection concerns were raised last week.
The announcement comes after reports in The Australian of vulnerable Aboriginal children being left alone in poor conditions, sometimes for days at a time, in a home owned by the WA Department of Housing and Works.
Speaking in Port Hedland on Wednesday, Western Australian Minister for the Pilbara, Amber-Jade Sanderson, said a meeting attended by a range of senior officers from government departments, non-government agencies, local government, and the community has plotted a path forwards.
"We have committed to working in partnership with the community to resolve some of these issues and make the town safe for everyone," Ms Sanderson said.
"It's clear that there is a huge amount of work going on in Hedland amongst agencies... what is also clear is that there have been mixed opportunities for escalation of acute cases.
"There is absolutely work going on in terms of living with families, but those pathways for escalation need to be clarified and actioned."
Ms Sanderson said a leadership group for child health and safety in the area will be formalised, meet weekly, and report to the minister for child protection.
Government vows to work closely with community
The Minister also confirmed meeting attendees agreed on a range of actions over the coming months to work with Elders, while committing "to working closely with the community to listening and making sure that those actions are in line with their expectations".
Following Wednesday's meeting, Western Australian Minister for Child Protection, Jessica Stojkovski, said local services would be ramped up to support the Port Hedland community.
"The outcomes of today have been a number of discussions around the night safe spaces and scaling that up from three [nights] to seven," Ms Stojkovski said.
"We will work with our sector partner Julyardi [Julyardi Aboriginal Corporation] to ensure that that is done in a safe and timely manner.
"We have also agreed to appoint a senior coordinator for this group, so that all actions that are taken across different government departments, and the local government, and the community sector partners is coordinated to ensure that we're getting a coordinated response on the ground."
Local 'Night Space' centre for youth and children to run seven nights a week
Julyardi was appointed to run the Hedland Safe Space which opened in December 2025. The Western Australian Government said it will support Julyardi's scaling up to seven nights a week.
WA Minister for Community Services, Matthew Swinburne, said expanding the Port Hedland's Safe Night Space program "means more vulnerable young people will have access to the support they need".
"The Safe Night Space provides young people with a safe place to go when they are facing crisis, homelessness or family instability and this is about securing the best outcomes for those who need it most," Mr Swinburne said.
Pilbara MLA Kevin Michael said he is committed to ensuring all children in the Port Hedland community feel safe and supported.
"These additional measures will help deliver more support for vulnerable and at-risk children in Port Hedland and confirm the Cook Labor Government's strong commitment towards child protection in the Pilbara," Mr Michael said.
The developments precede the upcoming independent roundtable on child safety, which is set to be held in Boorloo / Perth on Friday.
The round table was called National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, Sue-Anne Hunter, following recent child safety reports from the Pilbara.
