The 15-member group recently held its inaugural meeting, discussing goals to improve support and outcomes for some of the state’s most vulnerable children and young people and their families.

The group, chaired by Professor Leah Bromfield of the University of South Australia’s Australian Centre for Child Protection, was formed in response to reports handed down last year by former Police Commissioner Mal Hyde and child protection expert Kate Alexander.

Members include leaders of non-government and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations as well as academic and clinical specialists.

One of the group’s priorities is to advise on a planned child protection summit, bringing together stakeholders from across the sector to share knowledge and generate new ideas.

Members were also asked to provide robust advice on the development of a new 20-year vision for child protection in South Australia.

Both initiatives will bring about fresh perspectives on meeting the needs of children, young people and families impacted by interconnected issues such as poverty, mental ill-health, domestic and family violence and substance abuse.

The Expert Group, which  will meet up to six times a year,  has also been tasked with improving child protection response models and quality of practice, enhancing therapeutic responses and targeted interventions and improving out of home care support for young people.

It has been asked to immediately consider the issues of neglect and cumulative harm as well as how child deaths are examined and systems improved.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Child Protection Katrine Hildyard:

I am grateful to the esteemed members of the Expert Group who bring a wealth of wisdom and experience and who are getting on with the task, immediately diving into the complex issues that we see across our child protection system.

In order to build a more robust child protection system for the future we need to bring together community, multiple government agencies and the broader sector to help ensure South Australian children and families receive appropriate support.

Our Government is expecting strong feedback and advice from this group as we continue our work to reshape child protection in SA.

Quotes attributable to Professor Leah Bromfield, Child Protection Expert Group Chair

Our child protection system was not designed to respond to the scale of demand that it’s currently facing, as one in three South Australian children are now reported before they turn 18.

Rather than asking how we can reform our current systems, the group have been granted the opportunity to start with a blank page and to ask, ‘What system would we design for protecting children?’

In asking the question differently, South Australia has an opportunity to once more be a leader in child protection and determine what’s working well and what we should let go of into the future.