Table of contents:
Graphs
Number of notifications and children subject to a notification, Queensland, 2007-08 to 2011-12
| Year | Notifications | Children notified |
|---|---|---|
| 2006-07 | 28511 | 24102 |
| 2007-08 | 25003 | 22333 |
| 2008-09 | 23408 | 20959 |
| 2009-10 | 21885 | 19636 |
| 2010-11 | 21655 | 19353 |
Rate of children subject to a notification, per 1,000 children aged 0-17 years, by Indigenous status, Queensland, 2007-08 to 2011-12
| Year | Indigenous | Non-Indigenous |
|---|---|---|
| 2006-07 | 60.3 | 21.4 |
| 2007-08 | 63.3 | 18.9 |
| 2008-09 | 68.6 | 16.6 |
| 2009-10 | 69.2 | 14.7 |
| 2010-11 | 70.7 | 14.1 |
Proportion of notifications, by primary source, Queensland, 2011-12
| Year | Parent/ guardian | Other relative | Friend/ neighbour | School personnel | Police | Health sources | All other sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | 6.8 % | 5.4 % | 5.8 % | 14.2 % | 28.7 % | 17.9 % | 21 % |
| 2010-11 | 7.1 % | 6 % | 6 % | 14.1 % | 29.8 % | 17.1 % | 20 % |
Proportion of children subject to a notification, by age group, Queensland, 2011-12
| Year | Unborn (a) | 0 to 4 | 5 to 9 | 10 to 14 | 15 to 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | 0 % | 40 % | 27 % | 25 % | 7 % |
| 2010-11 | 4.1 % | 36.9 % | 26.5 % | 24.4 % | 8 % |
Tables
| Description | Annual | Quarterly |
|---|---|---|
| N.1: Notifications and children subject to a notification, by Indigenous status Queensland | Excel Excel | Excel Excel |
| N.2: Notifications, by primary source, Queensland | Excel Excel | Excel Excel |
| N.3: Notifications, by most serious type of harm notified, Queensland | Excel Excel | Excel Excel |
| N.4: Children subject to a notification, by age group and sex of child, Queensland | Excel Excel | Excel Excel |
| N.5: Notifications and children subject to a notification by child safety zone, Queensland | Excel Excel | |
| N.6: Notifications, by response timeframe, Queensland | Excel Excel | Excel Excel |
| N.7: Notifications and children subject to a notification, by region, Queensland | Excel Excel | Excel Excel |
What is a notification?
A notification is recorded when child protection information received suggests a child needs protection.
Children and young people in need of protection are those who have suffered significant harm, are suffering significant harm, or are at unacceptable risk of suffering harm and do not have a parent able and willing to protect them from the harm.
When a notification is recorded, the department must conduct an investigation.
Why this topic is important
Harm to a child or young person can be caused by physical or emotional abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse and can range from mild to life-threatening.
These types of harm can often occur together and can have a significant and detrimental effect on a child's emotional and/or physical health, development and wellbeing.
If the information received by our department indicates that an unborn child may be at risk of harm after they are born and will not have a parent able and willing to protect them from harm, a notification will be recorded.
Trends
In 2011-12, the department recorded 24,823 notifications relating to 21,909 children. This an increase of 14.6 per cent from the 21,655 notifications recorded in 2010-11.
The overall number of notifications decreased every year over the period 2004-05 to 2010-11. Notification numbers for 2011-12 represent a reversal of this trend, with the number of notifications recorded in 2011-12 (24,823) returning to a level similar to that recorded in 2007-08 (25,003).
The overall number of children subject to a notification has increased by 13.2 per cent since 2010-11, from 19,353 children in 2010-11 to 21,909 children in 2011-12. This increase occurred for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. The number of Indigenous children subject to a notification increased by 17.5 per cent (from 4,953 in 2010-11 to 5,820 in 2011-12), while the number of non-Indigenous children subject to a notification increased by 11.7 per cent (from 14,400 in 2010-11 to 16,089 in 2011-12).
Over the past five years, however, the number of non-Indigenous children subject to a notification has decreased while numbers for Indigenous children have increased. Since 2007-08, the number of non-Indigenous children subject to a notification has decreased by 10.8 per cent, from 18,039 in 2007-08 to 16,089 in 2011-12. In contrast, the number of Indigenous children subject to a notification has increased by 35.5 per cent over this period, from 4,294 in 2007-08 to 5,820 in 2011-12.
As a rate per 1,000 of the Queensland population aged 0-17 years, 82.0 per 1,000 Indigenous children were subject to a notification in 2011-12 compared to 16.1 per 1,000 for non-Indigenous children. Since 2007-08, Indigenous children subject to a notification increased from 63.3 per 1,000 to 82.0 per 1,000 in 2011-12, while non-Indigenous children subject to a notification decreased from 18.9 per 1,000 to 16.1 per 1,000 over the same period (based on preliminary 2011 estimated resident population figures).
This trend may be partially a result of the department's enhanced service provision to Indigenous communities and improved recording of Indigenous status over the past five years.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License