Overview

• The Commission of Inquiry into the Child Safety System formally opened in Brisbane on July 23 with $20 million in funding and is led by former Federal Court judge Paul Anastassiou KC
• Family and Children Commissioner Luke Twyford warned that key elements of the current child protection system are not fit for purpose and inflict harm on children and families
• The inquiry’s remit now includes childcare centres after the 2024 life sentence of Ashley Paul Griffith and fresh sex-offence charges against Victorian worker Joshua Dale Brown
• Over 3 000 children were in out-of-home care in 2024 as annual costs surged past $1 billion, with Indigenous children significantly overrepresented
• Youth groups urged the commission to back early intervention, mental health assessments, kinship-carer support, improved education access and safe accommodation for children in care