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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 5 Hansard (9 May) . . Page.. 1463 ..

Child protection

(Question No 127)

Ms Dundas asked the Minister for Education, Youth and Family Services, upon notice, on 9 April 2002:

In relation to child protection:

(1) Does the Department keep records of the deaths of children and young people (age 0 - 17 years).

(2) How many children or young people (age 0-17) died from July 2000 -2001.

(3) What are the various age groups according to the age of the child or young people: a) Infants under 12 months? b) Children aged between 1 and 14 years? c) Young people between 15-17 years?

(4) What was the gender breakdown of the deaths of children and young people.

(5) How many of these children had been the subject of reports of suspected child abuse or neglect.

(6) How many deaths of children and young people have been referred to the Coroner in this time frame.

(7) Has the Minister considered establishing a "Child Death Review Team," like that which exists in NSW.

(8) What concerns does the Minister have in establishing such a team.

Mr Corbell: The answer to Ms Dundas' question is:

(1) Records of all children and young people who come to the attention of Child Protection Services in the ACT are recorded on the Children and Young Person's System (CHYPS). All deaths of children and young people involved, or who have been involved with Child Protection Services are also recorded in this system.

(2) The ACT Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages provide all their statistics to the Australian Bureau of Statistics and do not keep a register themselves.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has no data for the period requested. The most recent data available is for the 2000 calendar year only. There are no figures currently available for the 2000-2001 financial year.

(3) a) ABS figures for all infant (0 to 12 months old) deaths for the 2000 calendar year indicate that there were10 males and 7 female deaths in the ACT in this age group.

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