Qld to get new centralised child protection commission

The Queensland government 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.

Attorney-General Deb Frecklington outlined a key plank of the government’s response to an extensive 12-month review by the Child Death Review Board at a Queensland Media Club event on Tuesday.

Frecklington said the $250 million commission, to be operational by February, will come alongside what she described as a “dedicated intelligence hub” to be running from March 2028.

“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.”

She said the government had accepted, in full or in principle, the “majority” of the review’s recommendations.

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

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

Across its 500-page report, released in December, the board found Griffith could have been caught several times, and set out 28 recommendations for the Queensland and federal governments to consider.

Six key areas of focus for the recommendations included systems for better collation of, and action on, early warning signs; preventing those posing a threat to children from entering the workforce; improving the response to victim-survivors and their families; and boosting worker and community awareness of threats.

Griffith’s appeal of his sentence was dismissed by the state’s Court of Appeal on Friday, clearing the path for him to also face court proceedings for further alleged offending against more than 20 children.

The government is continuing to consider its response to the recently wrapped-up Child Safety Inquiry, due by the end of next month.

More to come

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