Skip links and keyboard navigation

Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry

The Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry was established on 1 July 2012 by Order in Council (PDF, 26.0 KB) to review Queensland’s child protection system.

The Hon Tim Carmody SC has been appointed as Commissioner and must provide a written report with recommendations to the Premier by 30 June 2013 (Commissions of Inquiry Amendment Order (No.1) 2013).

The inquiry has been established by the Queensland Government to review progress of outcomes related to the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions (the Forde Inquiry) and the Crime and Misconduct Commission Inquiry to chart a new road map for child protection for the next decade.

The terms of reference ask the Commissioner to make full and careful inquiry in an open independent manner of Queensland’s child protection system, including in relation to:

  • the implementation of recommendations by the Forde Inquiry and the Crime and Misconduct Commission reports into child abuse
  • whether the current use of available resources across the child protection system is adequate and whether resources could be used more efficiently
  • the current Queensland government response to children and families in the child protection system
  • the transition of children through, and exiting the child protection system
  • the effectiveness of monitoring, investigation, oversight and complaint mechanisms and ways to improve the oversight of and public confidence in the child protection system, and
  • the adequacy or appropriateness (inlcuding whether any criminal conduct was assosiated with) of any executive government response to allegations of child sexual abuse and industrial disputes in youth detention centres (Commissions of Inquiry Amendment Order (No.2) 2013).

The Commissioner has been asked to include recommendations in his report on issues including:

  • any reforms to ensure that Queensland’s child protection system achieves the best possible outcomes to protect children and support families
  • strategies to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection system, and
  • legislative reforms.