A-G says new child protection commission will absorb existing body

The Queensland government says it will set up a new child protection commission to centralise a patchwork of safeguard functions that failed to stop the actions of the state’s worst childcare paedophile.

But key details about the approach remain unclear, after Attorney-General Deb Frecklington confirmed the body would absorb an existing commission and include seconded staff from other already stretched agencies.

Frecklington unveiled the key plank of her government’s response to an extensive 12-month review by the Child Death Review Board at a Queensland Media Club event on Tuesday, set to also include a “dedicated intelligence hub”.

Frecklington said the new Child Protection Commission, to be operational by February, will be launched with $255 million across the next four financial years, and $74 million a year beyond that – though conceded more may be needed.

The intelligence hub, to feature a dedicated new IT system, will be running from March 2028 – legislation set to come before parliament “soon” will support the changes.

“The Queensland Protection Commission will support better and timely sharing between major child safeguarding functions, such as Blue Card and the Reportable Conduct Scheme,” Frecklington said.

“Its intelligence hub will collect and explore even more information held by department and agencies which will be analysed holistically to reveal patterns of concern or abuse.”

Speaking before the formal release of the government response, Frecklington said the administration had accepted, in full or in principle, the majority of the In Plain Sight report’s recommendations.

In total, only four of the 28 recommendations were left “noted” or flagged for further investigation, including the establishment of an expert advisory panel of young people and those with lived experience of child sexual abuse to inform ongoing reforms.

The government only noted a call for better resourcing of relevant police investigative teams, and said it – and the new commission once established – would consider mandatory grooming identification training in child-related sectors.

During media questions after her speech, Frecklington conceded the new commission would “absorb” the Queensland Family and Child Commission, with staff to transfer across. The new commission will also feature staff seconded from the justice, child safety and police departments.

Frecklington and Luke Twyford, the review board chair and also the QFCC’s principal commissioner, are expected to hold a further joint media conference on Wednesday.

In comments included in a media release from Frecklington, Twyford said the reforms would establish “clear leadership, stronger accountability”.

Labor’s shadow attorney-general, Meaghan Scanlon, said the opposition welcomed any action to keep children safe, but the “devil will be in the detail” – including whether seconded positions will be replaced, and how much of the funding was new.

While the board also asked the federal government to provide a response to its report, a spokesperson for federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland suggested it would consider the recommendations.

“As part of the development of the second action plan [to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse], recommendations provided from relevant reviews and reports, including the In Plain Sight report, will be considered,” a spokesperson for Rowland said.

The board was tasked with the work after the state’s worst childcare paedophile, Ashley Paul Griffith, was handed a life sentence for 20 years of offending against 69 children, which was used as a case study.