Three NT child protection workers stood down amid probe

Three staff members in the Northern Territory’s child protection department have been stood down as an external investigation begins into events preceding the death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby in Alice Springs.

Northern Territory Child Protection Minister Robyn Cahill has told Sky News she requested details about departmental interactions with the girl and her family on the Monday after the child disappeared.

She said she was not briefed until last Friday, when she was informed that multiple notifications had been made to the department about the child’s welfare in the weeks before her disappearance.

Key Points

“Three people have been stood down from their positions as of today,” Ms Cahill said. “And I am calling for an independent investigation from someone who is removed from the existing situation so we can have total accuracy and be sure that we are getting the information that we need to get to understand how this failure could happen.”

The minister said she intends to reform the child protection system and indicated she is aware of other cases where children are living in unsafe conditions. She described her frustration with how the system is functioning, and said child safety must be the overriding priority across investigations.

Ms Cahill said that over the past 12 months she has reviewed multiple cases in which years of notifications preceded children being taken into care. She stated that this situation is unacceptable and cannot continue.