Queensland's child safety minister Amanda Camm has confirmed the cancellation of the My Life in Care Survey, an annual questionnaire for children and teenagers in state care that had been conducted every year since 2022, saying she had 'no hesitation' in axing it despite previously describing the survey as a 'cornerstone' of the government's approach to child safety reform.
Queensland minister defends scrapping annual survey of children in care
Queensland's child safety minister Amanda Camm has confirmed the cancellation of the My Life in Care Survey, an annual questionnaire for children and teenagers in state care that had been conducted every year since 2022, saying she had 'no hesitation' in axing it despite previously describing the survey as a 'cornerstone' of the government's approach to child safety reform.
The survey asked children aged five to 18 about their backgrounds, their feelings on entering care compared with the present, and whether they felt they had adequate privacy, safety, security, and care. In 2024, nearly 1,000 young people aged 10 to 18 responded, along with 88 children aged five to nine.
Results from the 2024 survey, tabled as part of a submission to the now-finalised Child Safety Inquiry, showed 40 per cent of children aged 10 to 18 had made a complaint about their time in care, and of those, 39 per cent were dissatisfied with how their complaint was handled. The same survey recorded that 67 per cent of respondents said they felt happy in care.
Ms Camm said the survey did not accurately represent the experiences of children in care, contrasting its findings with those of a separate Children in Care census, which she said showed more than 69 per cent of children entering care had suffered more than three types of abuse. She displayed the cover of the 2024 survey, which featured emojis, saying the instrument 'painted a picture of a child safety system full of happy emojis'.
Ms Camm also said children had been 'bribed' to complete the survey under the previous Labor government, referring to the practice of providing grocery store vouchers as compensation for participation. She said she would 'make no apology' for cancelling the survey on those grounds.
Previously, Ms Camm had written in a draft foreword to the 2024 survey submission: 'We will use what we learn from the My Life in Care survey each year to check on our progress, assess the impact of our reforms and continually refine our approach.'
The Queensland Family and Child Commission's Too Little, Too Late report had called for more complaint mechanisms for children in care, noting a 'narrow focus' on the existing complaints process and finding that children 'fear speaking up about their workers and providers' and held 'cynicism that their worries would be acted on'. The cancellation of the survey removes one avenue for children in care to raise concerns.
The Queensland Opposition said the voucher incentive was consistent with advice from the Queensland Family and Child Commission, which had recommended that the views of young people 'should be compensated accordingly' through 'gift cards, travel subsidies, formal recognition of participation and in-kind remuneration, such as skills building'.
- The source does not establish what, if any, mechanism will replace the My Life in Care Survey for gathering the views of children in care.
- The source does not include a response from child safety advocates or organisations representing children in care beyond the Queensland Family and Child Commission.
- The source does not detail the full findings or methodology of the Children in Care census that Ms Camm cited as providing 'the real facts'.
- The source does not clarify whether the decision to cancel the survey was made unilaterally by the minister or involved a broader government or departmental process.
Read the original at ABC News Australia