Australia · Child Protection · 2024–25

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The System is Not Working. See the Data.

Around 137,000 Australian children came into contact with the child protection system in 2024–25.

AIHW initial release. Queensland’s 2024–25 data is not yet included because of a client-management system transition. Read the source and scope.

Latest reports

Case File standard · Operation Tenterfield

82,764 reports

The ACCCE Child Protection Triage Unit received 82,764 reports of online child sexual exploitation in 2024–25. A Case File does not dump that number and move on. It traces what happened next.

  • Trigger: suspected child-abuse material is identified and assessed.
  • Investigation: Operation Tenterfield shows the chain from digital evidence to suspect identification and victim identification.
  • Accountability: allegations become charges only after investigators build admissible evidence; court outcomes must be reported separately from initial charge counts.
  • Unanswered question: what happens to the tens of thousands of other reports after triage?

Source: ACCCE statistics · AFP case outcome

Rules of engagement

Data Sheet

Raw statistics in list form. Every number is sourced. Every limitation is stated. No brochure language.

Case File

Deep investigations with a clear evidence trail: what happened, what authorities did, what remains unanswered and who must respond.

Report or get help

CURATED · AUSTRALIA

CHILD-SAFETY SOURCE DESK

Direct links to primary Australian child-safety authorities. News and allegations are reviewed by an editor before they appear on The Omen Report.

System explained

Notification
Someone suspects a child is at risk.
Investigation
A formal process to assess harm.
Substantiation
An investigation concludes the child is being, or is at risk of being, maltreated.

Caveat: not all notifications are investigated, and not all investigations are substantiated.

THE OMEN REPORT · Evidence-led Australian reporting

About & policies

For the open-minded.

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