A little boy fell through cracks in NSW’s child protection system
It is rare for a child to be killed by a parent in NSW. The cases are complex and sad. A mother’s filicidal killing is even rarer and, according to research, usually involves mental illness. These cases raise questions about the role of child protection agencies in ensuring the safety of children.
A particularly sad case occurred this week; The alleged murder of a four-year-old boy by his mother, who claimed she had consumed parts of her son. It has once again exposed the weakness of the NSW child protection system.
The boy and his 32-year-old mother were known to the Department for Communities and Justice, which has received numerous reports about child safety concerns. The last report was 18 months ago, before the move from Gunnedah to the Central Coast.
Widespread consternation led to swift action as police and criminal investigations continued. Families and Communities Minister Kate Washington announced the appointment of Peter Johnstone, a retired judge and former chief justice of the NSW Children’s Court, to review the department’s previous contact with the family and whether the responsible agency could have done more to protect the child.
Fourteen years ago reporter Using freedom of information requests, it showed that, amid major staff shortages, the then Department for Communities was notified that 61,308 children and young people were at risk, but the caseworker only interviewed 16,409 children and young people.
The system is overwhelmed.
Earlier this year, the NSW Ombudsman found that 65 per cent of more than 244,000 risk of significant harm reports in 2024-25 were closed due to a lack of capacity to allocate the report to caseworkers or caseworkers were assigned to other priorities.
The NSW Labor government has described the state’s child protection system as a mess since coming to power in 2023 and said it would take years to get services back on track. The $1.2 billion investment in the 2025 budget has delivered a range of support measures targeting out-of-home care, including an increase in foster care allowance.
“We’re running a system that’s out of control. We’re trying to turn that around; it took time to get to where we are now, and it’s going to take even more time to make sure we have the system that children and families in this state deserve,” Washington said.
But on the Central Coast, hundreds of clients were left in limbo as agencies supporting their needs lost funding in a new program designed to keep children in their homes and avoid out-of-home care provided by nonprofit Families Together.
The reforms began this month, but demand outstripped resources before they even started, and the transition has left many vulnerable families stranded.
Governments have many pressing priorities to balance, and protecting children from their own parents can be complex and difficult. But as this week’s case shows, it is vitally important.
The ministry is not responsible for the tragedies that happen to children. It cannot solve the problems of dysfunctional and dangerous families. He can only do his best. But the Wyong tragedy shows that there is a deep gap between risk and action.
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