Queensland inquiry adoption push sparks First Nations backlash

First Nations child welfare advocates have condemned key recommendations from a Queensland child safety inquiry that proposes widening the use of adoption and rejects racism as a driver of child removals, arguing the findings run counter to evidence and lived experience presented to the review.

Queensland’s Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety report, released on Wednesday, found the number of children and young people in state residential care had more than tripled over the past decade. The report noted Queensland now has almost as many children in residential care as every other state and territory combined.

Key Points

Among its 52 recommendations, the inquiry proposed changes to ensure adoption is not restricted by a child’s cultural background or ethnicity, and recommended amending the Child Protection Act to establish adoption as a third permanency pathway for all children.

“The Commission notes the strong submissions from First Nations stakeholders against adoption, however, it considers it would be inappropriate to exclude one cohort of children in out-of-home care from this option.”

The commission also concluded there was no evidence that “racism is a motivating or causal factor in decisions to remove Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families”.

It said case studies provided by Indigenous legal and advocacy organisations did not sustain claims that children were removed without a sufficient rational reason, and stated the Department’s policies and processes indicate a conscious effort not to repeat culturally ill‑informed mistakes of the past.

First Nations advocates challenge adoption expansion

The recommendation to elevate adoption drew immediate criticism from First Nations child welfare advocates. SNAICC – National Voice for our Children said it was alarmed by the proposal to expand the use of adoption.

“This flies in the face of everything we know from the experience of Stolen Generations and multiple investigations since the Bringing Them Home report,” SNAICC chief executive Catherine Liddle said.

Sisters Inside CEO, Debbie Kilroy, told the ABC that elevating adoption within the permanency hierarchy risked repeating past mistakes. She argued Indigenous children had historically been removed under the guise of best interests, and said the state continues to claim it is acting in children’s best interests.

In response to the finding that racism is not a motivating or causal factor in decisions to remove Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, SNAICC chief executive Catherine Liddle described the conclusion as a severe affront to families. She questioned how the commission explained the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the system and called the finding inexplicable.

Debate over the child placement principle

The report also found evidence presented during the inquiry suggested the Department had a “tendency to give tacit priority to achieving the objectives of the ATSICPP [Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle] in priority to an evaluation of the child’s best interests”. It concluded that pre‑determined assumptions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s best interests posed a safety risk and hindered child safety reform.

Ms Liddle argued the commission misunderstood the ATSICPP by implying it should be subordinate to best interests, saying connections to family, community, culture and Country are integral to children’s best interests rather than separate.

She noted existing Queensland legislation already makes the best interests of the child the paramount principle. Despite concerns about interpretation, SNAICC said the inquiry nevertheless supported the full implementation of the five elements of the Principle and recognised this as important to improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

System pressures, costs, and government response

The inquiry found the State’s residential care population increased by 229 per cent between March 2015 and March 2025. Over the same period, annual residential care costs rose from around $300,000 per child in 2019-20 to approximately $500,000 per child in 2024-25.

• Queensland now has almost as many children in residential care as every other state and territory combined
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Queensland are placed in out-of-home care at 9.3 times the rate of non-Indigenous children
• The inquiry made 52 recommendations spanning permanency, placement, and system reform

Responding to the report, the Queensland government announced children under five would no longer remain in residential care. Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm told state parliament on Wednesday that she had made a policy decision that no children under the age of five are to remain in residential care.

SNAICC also called on the Queensland government to quickly appoint a replacement for outgoing Indigenous Children’s Commissioner Natalie Lewis and to pursue broader reforms to the child protection system. The organisation said it was ready to work with the government so all Queensland children have a safe and supported future.

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