Child Safety Inquiry: One-Third of Residential Care Providers Unqualified

The state inquiry into child safety in Queensland has found that one-third of young people in residential care are still being placed with potentially unqualified care providers in 2026, despite ongoing efforts to strengthen oversight and licensing standards.

According to the Brisbane Times, hundreds of high-risk children have been placed in care without full safety checks, raising serious concerns about the adequacy of vetting processes for residential care providers across the state.

The inquiry, launched in May 2025 to review systemic failures in Queensland’s child safety system, has heard evidence that unlicensed residential care providers continue to receive significant government funding despite lacking formal certification under the Human Services Quality Framework.

Deputy Director-General Bernadette Harvey of the Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety testified that while 67 per cent of vulnerable children are cared for by licensed providers, eight per cent are under the care of unlicensed providers, highlighting a persistent reliance on services that operate outside formal accreditation processes.

In one notable case, an unnamed provider that has been contracted by the department since December 2022 cared for nearly 80 children and received an estimated $35 million in funding, despite never obtaining a license. The provider remains regulated and monitored by the department but is not subject to the same certification assessment processes as licensed services.

Queensland law distinguishes between licensed and unlicensed residential care providers. Licensed services are certified under the Human Services Quality Framework, while unlicensed providers—often used for immediate or specialised placements—must still comply with minimum accreditation standards but are not required to undergo formal certification assessments.

The commission of inquiry, led by Paul Anastassiou KC, was established to examine the systemic issues that allowed the child safety sector to deteriorate, resulting in inadequate outcomes for vulnerable children. Its findings underscore ongoing challenges in ensuring that all placements meet rigorous safety and qualification standards.

As of April 2026, the inquiry continues to hear evidence on the extent of unlicensed provider use, funding allocations, and the effectiveness of current monitoring mechanisms, with the aim of recommending reforms to better protect high-risk children in state care.