On this page, we talk about child protection.

On this page:

• What child protection is
• What it can be like to experience child protection
• How child protection works
• Supporting children in child protection
• Support for you

All states and territories:

• have laws about what the government can do to keep children safe
• run their own child protection.

The job of child protection is to make sure children are safe.

For example, making sure that children:

• have enough to eat
• have somewhere warm and dry to sleep
• are not in danger from their parents or carers.

Anyone can contact child protection if they are worried that a child is not safe.

And child protection will check to make sure the child is safe.

If they agree that the child is not safe, they will make a plan to protect that child.

The plan could include:

• ways to make the child’s home safer
• finding somewhere else the child can live until their home becomes safe.

If someone reports your child to child protection, you might feel:

• afraid
• ashamed.

You might have also had bad experiences with organisations and governments before.

But you are not alone.

With support, you can get through it.

And your children can be safe.

You might contact child protection because you are worried that a child is not safe.

Or child protection might contact you because someone made a report about your child.

You might experience child protection if you are a child that someone made a report about.

Parents with disability can often face discrimination.

For example, people might think you cannot be a good parent just because you have a disability.

But this is not true.

And it can hurt the parents to experience this.

People are learning more about disability, but Australia still has a long way to go.

The law says that some people must make a report to child protection if they think a child is not safe.

For example, teachers and doctors.

Child protection workers will aim to find out more about a child after someone makes a report about them.

Child protection workers will usually talk to the parents on the phone.

But if they still believe the child is not safe, they might:

• visit the child’s home to check if they are safe
• talk to other people who know the child.

If the child protection workers decide that the child is at risk, they will create a plan to make that child safe.

The plan could include different things depending on what the child needs.

For example, it might explain that the parents need to do training.

But the plan might explain that the child needs to live:

• somewhere else until their home becomes safe
• with adults who are not their parents.

If a child must live somewhere else, the parents still have the right to:

• spend time with their child
• work towards bringing their child home to them.

Child protection might also try to connect the child and their family to other support services.

It is important to remember that child protection always tries to:

• make sure children are safe
• manage any issues in the families of those children.

You can find out more about child protection on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website.

If your child is in child protection, you might feel scared to talk with child protection workers.

But the most helpful thing you can do is:

• tell them the truth
• give them any information they need.

You can always have someone with you who can support you.

For example, a friend or family member.

If you have had bad experiences in the past with child protection, it could be a good idea to get counselling.

This can help you to:

• manage your feelings
• be the best parent you can be.

You might feel afraid or ashamed that your children can no longer live with you.

These are normal emotions.

With support, you can work to manage these hard feelings.

You can support your children through anything they might experience.

No matter what, you will always be their parent.

Your children will need you to support them while they are in child protection.

They will need you to:

• be honest
• communicate with them about what is happening
• show them that you still love and care about them.

Your children will need to express how they are feeling.

You can support them to do things like:

• talk about how they feel
• draw or sing
• play.

Your children also need support from their whole family if this is possible.

You can try to work with your family to support your child.

For example, you can share resources your family can use to understand:

• what is happening
• what they can do.

Children with disability have the right to be part of decisions about their own lives.

Some children with disability cannot communicate through:

• speech
• Auslan or sign language
• writing.

They might not have had the chance to learn how to make decisions about what they want.

People might think that children with disability:

• cannot be part of making decisions
• should not be part of these decisions.

This affects the rights of children with disability to be part of decisions about their own lives.

It is best to support children with disability to make their own decisions.

And to work with someone the child trusts to learn:

• how they feel
• what they want.

Children often have many people in their lives who can support them.

For example, their:

• parents and families
• teachers
• carers.

It is a good idea to work with everyone to support children with disability to:

• make decisions about their own lives
• be safe.

You can find out more about supporting children with disability to make decisions on the Australian Institute of Family Studies website.

The way child protection works can be hard to understand.

And it can be hard to know what you:

• can do
• should do.

It is a good idea to get support and the information you need.

For example, you can get counselling.

You can find out more on our page about counselling.

It is also a good idea to get legal advice.

If you get upset and need support, you can contact Lifeline.

Lifeline is a service for people at risk of suicide.

This is when someone ends their own life.

You can call Lifeline any time.

13 11 14

We also have a list of supports on our website.

You can find out more on our page about support.