Summary
Since the Child Protection Panel (the Panel) commenced its work in March 2015, there has been a profound change to the immigration detention environment and that at the regional processing centre (RPC) in Nauru. The number of children in detention facilities or the RPC has decreased very significantly. This is the result of a major effort to move children and their families into community settings within Australia, and the Government of Nauru implementing ‘open centre’ arrangements while the processing of transferees’ claims is expedited.
These shifts have not reduced the relevance of this report. Community detention is now the primary form of detention of children awaiting status resolution in Australia. The Panel’s recommendations will further promote the wellbeing and protection of children in community detention. Further, some of the Panel’s recommendations, such as incident inquiry, internet security, information man- agement and intelligence, have broader application beyond the child protection context.
A key emphasis for the Panel has been a focus on strategies to improve child wellbeing, as well as improving the responses of the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Pro- tection (the Department) to incidents involving children. Since the Panel commenced its work, the Department has already responded positively to many of the Panel’s observations.
This report contains both formal recommendations and embedded observations. The embedded observations – although not formal recommendations – are important; the Panel encourages the Department to consider the totality of the report when considering responses.
The Panel has commented in detail on, but purposely not made recommendations in relation to, Nauru RPC, as this facility is operated by the Government of Nauru.
The Panel acknowledges that this review commenced during the amalgamation of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service into a new Department of Immigration and Border Protection. The Panel also notes that the period to which its work relates was one in which the Department was under significant operational pressure because of the large number of maritime arrivals.
Within this report:
Chapters 1 to 3 relate to the establishment of the Panel, provide background information and discuss the Panel’s methodology.
Chapters 4 to 6 deal with each of the three environments that the Panel has reviewed, and Chapter 7 deals with the needs of vulnerable people.
Chapter 8 brings together the areas where policies and practices can be improved to support the wellbeing and protection of children.
Responding to the terms of reference
The terms of reference call for the Panel to ‘ensure that a comprehensive and contemporary framework for the Department relating to the protection of children is in place’.
Importantly, the Department’s Child Safeguarding Framework has now been finalised, providing high-level guidance for staff and service providers. A key recommendation of the Panel is the com- pletion of the policy architecture that supports this Child Safeguarding Framework, and the align- ment of service provider policies and key departmental roles.
The terms of reference further call for the Panel to ‘assess the adequacy of departmental and service provider policy and practice around the management of incidents of abuse, neglect or exploitation involving children’.
The Panel assessed 242 incidents of child abuse. Responses to just over half of the cases were assessed by the Panel as adequate or good. The response to child victims was comparatively better than the response to persons of interest (POIs).
The Panel has observed that the held detention environment shifted considerably during its tenure. For matters reviewed throughout this process, and indeed early in the Panel’s existence, departmental service providers tended to control incidents and responses, with the Department, in many cases, playing a secondary role. A greater emphasis on accountability for departmental officers has led to a significant capability improvement in relation to the Department’s ability to respond to incidents.
Observations on the data
The most vulnerable victim group identified through the case reviews was children under the age of 6 years, who made up 40 per cent of the victims. Of this group, 70 per cent were males.
Just over 75 per cent of POIs were adults, with males represented at twice the proportion of fe- males. Service provider staff or subcontractors represented less than 10 per cent of the POIs.
The data show that nearly 25 per cent of cases featured child victims who had previously been reported as being the subject of earlier child abuse.
There was a relatively small group of 22 POIs that the Panel would characterise as recidivists, as they featured in approximately 25 per cent of all cases.
The Panel notes that, notwithstanding the serious nature of many incidents reviewed, less than 1 per cent of all cases resulted in criminal convictions.
There has been a very high level of compliance by the Department and its service providers, achiev- ing a 95.3 per cent rate against the mandatory reporting requirements in each state and territory jurisdiction.
Key findings
Incident reporting and categorisation
High-quality incident reporting is critical to establishing a good basis for investigation and effective action. This is an area where considerable improvement is required. Incident reports often tended to be very brief, with inadequate description of what was reported or observed. The Panel was also of the view that improvements to complaint management systems were generally warranted, as there was a pattern of premature closure of matters and a lack of transparency in the complaint process.
The categorisation of incidents needs to be strengthened to accurately identify the number, nature and seriousness of incidents – including improving consistency across different service providers.
Child safeguarding inquiries
There is a need to significantly strengthen the Department’s capacity to conduct child safeguarding inquiries into incidents of child abuse. This will call for stronger leadership from senior operational staff, including coordination of multi-agency forums to facilitate the outcomes of child protection safeguarding inquiries. It is essential that inquiries are not finalised until all available facts are estab- lished and effectively responded to, even if a criminal investigation cannot proceed.
The Panel noted that the Department and service providers often lacked the capability to effectively respond to complex incidents.
Improving management of information flow The Panel found that there was a need to improve the flow of detainee- and transferee-related in- formation within and outside the Department. Staff need to know where this information is held and how it can be accessed. In the longer term, integrating the currently fragmented information hold- ings relating to children and their families will be important.
When privacy considerations restrict the flow of necessary information, this can be largely overcome by seeking consent from detainees and transferees to share such information.
Community detention capability
There is a need to strengthen the capability of community detention service providers to ensure that staff have the skills to identify and act on emerging risks to children, and respond effectively to criti- cal incidents. There is also a need to develop case management protocols relating to children to in- form placement decisions and identify support needs. This latter observation applies equally in held detention.
The Panel acknowledges that it had the least amount of time to work on community detention cas- es, which is arguably the most important area moving forward. There is important work to be un- dertaken on identification and management of risk in the community detention environment.
Risk management
The Panel found that the current approach to risk management focuses broadly on physical security and good order of detention facilities. In community detention, the Panel found no risk frameworks in place. It is important that the Department works with service providers to extend existing risk as- sessment mechanisms to ensure that they specifically address the safety of children in detention and those who are a threat to children.
External relationships
The Panel notes that, in promoting the wellbeing and protection of children, the Department must work in close cooperation with state and territory authorities – both child protection and others. It is important that the Department continue to build strong relationships with those authorities to ena- ble the reciprocal flow of information about child protection matters and establish a common un- derstanding of the processes followed by each party so that complex cases can be effectively re- solved.
The Panel noted steps taken by the Government of Nauru to improve its child protection services, and the improved capability of its local police, supported by Australian Government officials.
List of recommendations of the Panel
That the Department review its operational framework for community detention to ensure that the:
a. current and emerging risks to children and families in the changing community detention environment are fully understood and acted upon
b. services available to detainees are tailored to their needs, including enhanced support and transitional arrangements. [Section 6.1]
That the Department work with community detention service providers to strengthen perfor- mance around:
a. the capability of service provider and subcontractor staff to identify and act upon emerging risks to the safety of children
b. the capability of front-line support staff to respond to critical incidents
c. rationalising reporting arrangements between the Department, service providers and sub- contractors. [Section 6.3]
That the Department review the management of unaccompanied minors (UAMs) in community detention, to ensure that:
a. contractual arrangements for the provision of day-to-day care of UAMs include expertise in out-of-home care, as well as settlement services
b. a ‘transition from care’ scheme is established that extends current levels of support to UAMs beyond their 18th birthday where this is required, especially for the purpose of completing school. [Section 7.2]
That the Department give effect to the Child Safeguarding Framework (the Framework), by:
a. finalising the stated policies, procedural instructions, operating procedures and supporting material that underpin the Framework
b. ensuring that service provider and subcontractor policies that support child wellbeing and protection are amended to align with the Framework
c. ensuring that Detention Superintendents and Field Compliance Operations Superinten- dents have the necessary authority and knowledge to fulfil their accountabilities under the Framework. [Section 8.2]
That the Department complete a review of the implementation and effectiveness of the Framework within 18 months of its endorsement, with particular focus on the:
a. effective exercise of accountability and control by Detention Superintendents and Field Compliance Operations Superintendents
b. quality assurance and policy roles of the Child Protection and Wellbeing Branch
c. use of the ‘triple track’ approach to incident response. [Section 8.2]
That the Department continue to build sound working relations with state and territory authori- ties on child protection matters, to:
a. ensure the reciprocal flow of information about child protection matters
b. establish a common understanding of the processes followed by each party so that com- plex cases can be effectively resolved
c. seek to brief law enforcement, judicial and mental health authorities to enhance their understanding of Australian Government immigration detention arrangements
d. seek the leave of the relevant court or tribunal to appear and make submissions relating to a held or community detention issue. [Section 8.3]
That the Department develop an enhanced incident categorisation system, in conjunction with service providers, that accurately identifies the number, nature and seriousness of incidents, in- cluding child abuse. [Section 8.4]
That the Department strengthen its capacity to conduct child safeguarding inquiries by:
a. ensuring effective leadership and management of inquiries by Detention Superintendents and Field Compliance Operations Superintendents
b. requiring service providers to deliver accurate and complete incident reporting
c. establishing regular multi-agency forums to coordinate and facilitate the outcomes of child protection investigations
d. ensuring that inquiries are not finalised until all available facts are established and effec- tively responded to
e. ensuring that any complaint withdrawals are fully documented and transparent. [Sec- tion 8.4]
That the Department develop, in conjunction with relevant service providers, case management standards for children in immigration detention. Further, the Department should design a com- plex-case management protocol, in consultation with Detention Superintendents and Field Compliance Operations Superintendents, within the ambit of the Child Safeguarding Framework. [Section 8.5]
That the Department ensure that Detention Superintendents and Field Compliance Operations Superintendents, service providers and subcontractors are aware of, and have access to, appro- priate professional services that are required in complex child wellbeing and protection cases. [Section 8.6]
That the Department:
a. extend its risk assessment mechanisms to ensure that they specifically address the safety of children in immigration detention, including
i. children under the age of six years and others known to be at high risk of abuse ii. recidivist persons of interestb. introduce a risk assessment process around the movement of children and their families
c. extend the National Detention Placement Model to include the needs of, and mitigation of the risks faced by, children and families in immigration detention. [Section 8.9]
That the Department identify, assess and effectively respond to:
a. children who have been the victims of abuse on multiple occasions
b. persons of interest who have been involved in multiple child abuse incidents. [Section 8.9]
That the Department continue to implement the findings of the review of internet safeguards conducted by the Detention Assurance Team, including:
a. the restriction of data-transfer capability
b. the capacity to identify users of departmental computers in immigration detention facilities
c. a regular review of data access records to identify unlawful and inappropriate access
d. age-appropriate access to online and other digital media. [Section 8.10]
That the Department improve its management of case-related information, including by:
a. developing a mechanism to ensure that officers who need this information know where it is and how to access it
b. integrating the currently fragmented information holdings relating to children and their families in immigration detention. [Section 8.13]
That the Department:
a. ensure that all relevant information on the history and background of the child and the person of interest is communicated to all relevant stakeholders (including state and terri- tory authorities) when the child or person of interest is moved within or outside the immi- gration detention network
b. seek consent, where necessary, from the detainee concerned to authorise the sharing of information to enhance the services to be provided – or consider if there are other grounds to lawfully disclose the information. [Section 8.13]
That the Department develop its intelligence capability in the immigration detention network to address child abuse risks, in line with the findings of the Integrated Intelligence Capability Re- view, so that:
a. the incidence of child abuse is reduced
b. intelligence products are used to inform decision making. [Section 8.14]
That the Department consider providing a copy of this report to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, drawing its attention to the enhancements that could be made to Australia’s mandatory reporting arrangements. [Section 8.15]