Just 39 blue cards suspended from hundreds of child safety complaints

Almost 700 complaints through a fast-tracked scheme have resulted in only 39 people losing their blue card status in Queensland, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington has confirmed.

The Reportable Conduct Scheme has received 666 notifications since it began on July 1, with almost 200 referrals to the Queensland Police Service. As a result, 39 blue cards have been suspended.

The Queensland Family and Child Commission is monitoring 570 matters.

“The types of conduct reported include ill-treatment of a child, physical violence against a child, and sexual misconduct in relation to a child,” Frecklington said on Monday.

“Every notification that is received enables the relevant authorities to investigate, to make sure that the principal objective of keeping Queensland children safe is met.”

The state government announced in June it would set up a new child protection commission to centralise a patchwork of safeguard functions that failed to stop the actions of the state’s worst childcare paedophile.

Frecklington said on Monday the commission would help parents “feel as though they are doing the right thing by dropping their kids at daycare”.

When asked why the hundreds of complaints had not resulted in more blue card suspensions, Frecklington said the scheme ensured that suspensions were made if a child was in imminent danger.

It was crucial to receive and share information below the criminal threshold between organisations, Principal Queensland Family and Child Commissioner Luke Twyford said.

He said many of the complaints were instead “about the warning signs, the breadcrumbs, and signals that something might not be right” and after every one, there was a risk assessment.

“Often for these workers, there’s an allegation that is below the criminal threshold, but may reach a crime if more information comes to light,” he said.

“We’re being proactive in sharing that information, making sure everyone across government is aware that there’s been a signal that this person might be a risk. It would be inappropriate to therefore suspend everyone that’s reaching that threshold.”

Twyford said one successful report came from a mother concerned about a photographer hired from overseas for a sporting club. After the investigation, the worker’s blue card was suspended.

Another successful report centred on reports of a male worker grooming a young girl in an accommodation service. She informed staff, who then reported it to QFCC.

“The worker quit their job seeking to avoid detection and sought employment elsewhere,” Twyford said.

Under the scheme, the organisation was required to investigate after his departure, and found two other young people who said they had been groomed, he said.

This was then referred to police, and the man’s blue card was suspended.

Frecklington was also asked about the welfare of children in Queensland’s youth detention centres, where workers began seven days of rolling strikes from Monday.

The Australian Workers Union said there had been 14 reported serious staff assaults – including head punches, a bite drawing blood and urine thrown on a staff member – in the last seven days and more than 500 serious staff assaults in the last 12 months.

Frecklington said the Crisafulli government was at the negotiating table. She would not confirm how many more beds would be needed after new breach of bail laws were introduced.

“It’s pretty simple,” Frecklington said. “We will prioritise the rights of victims over the rights of offenders.

“Of course we’ve looked at the impact upon the system, as we do with all of our new legislation … but if you don’t want to end up in the criminal justice system, you don’t want to go back to juvie, don’t commit another offence whilst you’re on bail.”

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Dominique Tassell is a reporter at Brisbane Times.AdvertisementAdvertisement