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5. Short-term child protection orders

Graphs

Number of children subject to short-term child protection orders, by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status, Queensland, as at 30 June, 2015 to 2019

Rate of children subject to short-term child protection orders, per 1,000 children aged 0-17 years, by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status, as at 30 June, 2015 to 2019

Tables

Table notes

What are short-term child protection orders?

When the protection needs of a child cannot be met through intervention with parental agreement, the department makes a recommendation to the Director of Child Protection Litigation to seek a child protection order through the Childrens Court to meet the needs of the child.

A child protection order is not sought if there are other ways to protect the child, such as working actively with the family to resolve the problems that led to the significant harm or risk of harm, or connecting the family to a community support agency.

Short-term child protection orders include:

• Directive order - directs a parent to do or refrain from doing something related to the child's protection, or directs a parent not to have contact or to have only supervised contact with the child. A directive order must not be for more than one year.
• Supervision order - requires the chief executive (Director-General) to supervise the child's protection in relation to the matters stated in the order. A supervision order must not be for more than one year.
• Custody or guardianship – a child protection order that grants custody or guardianship to the chief executive or custody to a relative of the child. Short-term custody or guardianship must not be for more than two years. A person who has custody of a child has the right and responsibility to attend to day-to-day matters only, including a child's daily care and making decisions about a child's daily care. They do not however have the power to make decisions about the long-term care, welfare and development of the child.

Why this topic is important

The first priority of the department is the safety of the child or young person who has come into contact with the child protection system.

Short-term child protection orders are a critical part of the child protection system. They provide the department with the authority to work with the family to reduce the risk of future harm with the aim of safely returning the child home.

Trends

Of the 10,296 children subject to child protection orders as at 30 June 2019, 3,893 were subject to short-term orders and 6,403 children were subject to long-term orders.

The number of children subject to short-term orders increased by 5.6 per cent from 3,688 as at June 2018 to 3,893 children as at 30 June 2019.

Over the past five years the number of children subject to short-term orders increased by 9.2 per cent from 3,564 to 3,893 as at 30 June 2019. Over the same period, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children subject to a short-term child protection order increased 3.8 percent and 13.6 per cent respectively.