Ministerial Statement

Hyde and Alexander Child Protection Reports

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD (Reynell—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:08): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: The state government has received child protection reports from former police commissioner Mal Hyde and child protection expert Kate Alexander, and action is already underway to address the recommendations. All 31 of the Hyde recommendations have been accepted in principle; two of the three Alexander recommendations have been accepted in principle and the third is under active consideration.

The Hyde report examines the circumstances surrounding two specific cases: the tragic death of seven-year-old Makai in February and six-year-old Charlie in July. The Alexander report was a direct response to the recommendations of the Deputy Coroner's report into the tragic deaths of Amber Rose Rigney and Korey Lee Mitchell in 2016.

The report reviewed more than 800 recommendations made across royal commissions, coronial inquests and public reviews since 2016. Ms Alexander met with more than 160 professionals across the child protection sector, including oversight bodies, NGO sector, government service delivery partners and families with direct experience.

Ms Alexander's report recognises the complexity inherent in child protection work and recognises those who work in child protection. Her report also acknowledges progress since the Nyland royal commission and calls for trust in this process. Ms Alexander's report 'Trust in Culture' is publicly available. Based on legal advice and advice from SAPOL and Mr Hyde, the Hyde report is not currently being released.

After examining the reports and their recommendations, the state government is taking the following immediate actions:

1. The Hyde review conducted a high-level screening exercise to identify other children that may be in particularly high-risk settings—526 children were identified. SAPOL is coordinating a multi-agency effort to check those children's welfare as quickly as possible. These efforts are already underway.

2. Establishing a South Australian child protection expert group, as recommended in the Alexander report. The expert group's first task is ensuring the prioritisation of cases and an understanding of child neglect, as identified in the Hyde report.

3. Forming a chief executive oversight committee, led by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, to ensure all of these actions and the broader recommendations contained in the reports are coordinated and integrated across government.

The government has already recognised the need for further investment in child protection. We made major commitments in our first budget, including:

$128.9 million additional funding over five years to fund the cost of caring for children;

additional supports for young people transitioning from care, funding for that of $3.2 million;

$0.8 million for care advocacy services;

$0.8 million to CREATE Foundation;

$0.8 million to Grandparents for Grandchildren; and

funding for the Child and Young Person's Visitor of $1.9 million.

Some of the funding from the $128.9 million will immediately be made available to recruit 42 social workers who will be placed in areas where there is need. An additional 10 principal Aboriginal consultants will also be employed to provide cultural advice to social workers working with Aboriginal families.

We must always strive to improve our child protection system, and Mr Hyde and Ms Alexander's reports provide important recommendations for further improvement. Sadly, we cannot stop every difficult circumstance in every family home. However, we will work every day to improve the system.