ACCP Inform - May 2026

Acknowledgement of Country

We respectfully acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, in particular the Kaurna and Whadjuk Noongar Peoples on whose lands the ACCP Adelaide and Perth offices are based. We recognise the continuing connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the lands, seas, waterways and skies pay respects to the Elders past and present. We strive to ensure that we operate in a manner which respects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing and their rights to self-determination.

Last week we saw the release of the Commonwealth Government budget. It included targeted measures aimed at improving housing affordability, the establishment of a single national Children and Family Support Program with $171.1 million over 5 years to replace existing programs, $59.4 million for young people at risk of homelessness, and $13.5 million for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse.

There was a lot of talk about generational equity, but sadly the needs of children were not a part of this discussion. Meaningful investment in preventing and responding to abuse and neglect, and a shift from adversarial and crisis responses to those that support earlier help and healing for those affected by abuse and neglect, are critical to generational change.

Of particular note, the 2026-27 Budget did not include any significant allocations for the next action plans for:

• Safe and Supported: National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2021-2031,

• National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030,

• National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032.

I am so disappointed that investments were not made this year. A delay in investment in these plans is a delay in the urgent action needed to combat the problem of violence, abuse and neglect.

Instead, this year planning and consultation will occur to develop the next action plans for each of these strategies, with a particular focus on coordinating and aligning action where issues and solutions overlap or intersect.

While there are real potential benefits in coordinated planning, it is critical that we do not allow children and their needs in the context of violence, abuse and neglect to become less visible.

But I am hopeful that taking the time to consult and plan will translate into significant investment in these action plans in the 2027-28 Budget.

At the ACCP, we are not waiting for government Budgets to take action. This year we are commencing work with partners and creating a transformation blueprint to change our approach to preventing and responding to abuse and neglect – because urgent action cannot wait.

We look forward to sharing more about our transformation work in later editions.

Community of Practice resources launched

The ACCP recently launched the voluntary Community of Practice resources that support the first phase of the National Child Safety Training, which the Centre developed in partnership with the Queensland Government on behalf of Australian governments.

The National Child Safety Training is mandatory for all ECEC staff and volunteers.

Since being launched earlier this year, more than two thirds of ECEC staff have undertaken the first child safety eLearning course (Foundations of Child Safety Training). Many other registrations were non-mandatory.

The free Community of Practice resources are designed to be facilitated by someone who has completed the first eLearning course.

There are more than 600 pages and around 90 activities broken down into themed sections that are designed to be flexible – staff can select the areas that relate to their workplace or staffing requirements.

The free resources can be accessed here.

Centre staff are now working on the advanced training, which is expected to be released in July.

High-impact investments – Barnahus overview

The ACCP continues its important research into measuring the effectiveness of the Barnahus (Icelandic word for ‘Children’s House’) multidisciplinary and child-friendly response to child sexual abuse in Europe.

The European Barnahus Evaluation Framework Project is a collaboration between Adelaide University (Assoc Prof James Herbert, Dr Rachael Tindal), the University of Edinburgh (Dr Mary Mitchell, Kate Sewel), University of Bedfordshire (Assoc Prof Camille Warrington), and Universität Hildesheim (Prof Silvie Bovarnick).

They recently contributed to a global policy brief demonstrating that integrated, multisectoral responses like Barnahus are a high-impact investment. The Rise Up Policy Brief shows that by centring the child and coordinating law enforcement, health, and justice, there are better outcomes for survivors and the economy. Fragmented child protection systems are not just harmful to children, but costly for governments. When services are siloed, children often face repeated interviews and parallel assessments, leading to re-traumatisation and disengagement from services.

The Return on Investment:
* 3.12x future savings in health and justice costs (London)
* $3.33 in public benefits for every $1 invested (Alabama)
* 5.3:1 benefit-cost ratio when these services reach scale (Latvia)
* $5+ in social value generated for every dollar spent provincial-wide (British Columbia)

A/Prof Herbert joined international experts at the 2025 ISPCAN Congress in Vilnius, Lithuania, to discuss the social and economic benefits of more integrated responses.

This article continues here

Fair go for residential care leavers

In February, Professor Leah Bromfield spoke at an event launching research commissioned by Child and Family Focus SA (CAFFSA) and the National Home Stretch Campaign, through Deloitte Access Economics. It shows that providing support for SA residential care leavers aged 18-21 would reduce harm and save the state government money over the long term.

“The latest data analysis by Adelaide University’s BetterStart Group shows in the two years after leaving care, SA children from residential care are more likely than children from foster or kinship care to experience homelessness, poor mental health, issues with substance misuse and hospitalisations. We can do better,” said Prof Bromfield.

South Australia already provides post-care supports to children leaving foster and kinship care – just note residential care leavers.
“Not only do we have a moral duty of care to these young people, but if they receive the same sort of life opportunities as other 18-year-olds, then they can achieve more – which means cost savings and economic benefits to the state. It’s a no-brainer.”

Perinatal reporting

ACCP Aboriginal Strategy and Engagement Lead Dr Jacynta Krakouer and Deputy Director, Research Professor Melissa O'Donnell recently spoke at the Turning Point Symposium, Australia’s first national symposium dedicated to pre-birth and infant safety reports.

Dr Krakouer, a Minang Noongar woman from southwestern Australia, presented Supporting Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Families to Stay Together From the Start. She spoke of her multi-jurisdictional research projects across Australia, and her work for the national Supporting Aboriginal Families to Stay Together From the Start (SAFeST Start) Coalition.

Prof O’Donnell spoke on Where Infant Safety Sits in Australia Today, drawing on her extensive program of research on pre-birth and infant involvement in child protection. Melissa highlighted the need for transparency around perinatal processes for families experiencing adversity and the development of coordinated care pathways to provide support for identified needs.

The symposium was run by Brave Foundation.

Dr Krakouer also recently travelled to Oklahoma City in the US for the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) Conference where she presented Journeys of Culturally Connecting - Fostering Cultural Connection for Aboriginal Children and Young People in Out-of-Home Care in Australia. Drawing on Indigenous Standpoint Theory and mixed-methods research, the study reframes “cultural connection” as an ongoing journey intertwining identity, belonging and relationality.

Dr Krakouer said it was a privilege to be part of a gathering that brings together such depth of knowledge, experience and commitment to Indigenous children, families and communities. “It’s especially meaningful to be in a space centred on Indigenous leadership, knowledge and ways of caring for Indigenous children.”

The importance of purpose

“Are you putting the pieces together to better meet the recovery needs of children, or to consider protecting children from their parents?”

ACCP Director Professor Leah Bromfield presented at the Communities of Practice Forum for Child and Family Support Services in May, speaking on cumulative harm.

“Cumulative harm is a big problem because child abuse and neglect is a big problem,” she said. “Children are at greater risk of cumulative harm from chronic abuse and neglect in families experiencing multiple and complex needs.”

Speaking to practitioners, Prof Bromfield stressed the need to clearly document children’s daily lived experiences through the lens of cumulative harm. However, considering purpose is vital.

“A broad conceptualisation of cumulative harm is useful if you’re in a role where you’re assessing the needs of children … to better understand and develop a plan to meet their needs and help them to heal and thrive.”

However, it can be problematic when deciding whether statutory powers are needed to protect children from their parents.

“In this context, a broad conceptualisation of cumulative harm could see us unjustly holding parents to account for the cumulative harm caused by their children’s exposure to intergenerational trauma, poverty, racism and community violence – things that are mostly outside of parents’ control,” Prof Bromfield said.

“A more nuanced understanding of cumulative harm is required in the context of intake and assessment when we need to consider not only how worried we are about the child’s wellbeing, but also whether the parent is able and willing to protect the child from harm and whether a statutory or a family support response is needed.”

25 Feb: Did you make the Power 1000? SA’s most influential people of 2026 listed, Prof Leah Bromfield, The Advertiser

ACCP Director Professor Leah Bromfield debuted at number 43 on The Advertiser’s annual Power 100 list published in February, demonstrating the impact of her campaign to improve the lives of children through the Centre’s work, and her role as 2025 Australian of the Year for South Australia.

In a subsequent Readers’ Top 100 published online, Prof Bromfield jumped 40 places to come in at number 3 – showing that her message has not only been heard by the South Australian community, but strongly endorsed.

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20 Dec: Youth crime is “not in crisis”, Australian Centre for Child Protection, The Saturday Paper

12 Jan: Looking ahead: What the ECEC sector can expect in 2026, Australian Centre for Child Protection, The Sector

25 Jan: Former state care kid calls for fundamental change to fix 'broken' residential care system, Prof Leah Bromfield, ABC News online

5 Feb: What Australia’s Geccko Rollout Reveals About National Safety Reform, Australian Centre for Child Protection, Education Daily

11 Feb: Interview by Gemma Veness, Australian Centre for Child Protection, ABC News Mornings and 20 other regional stations

26 Feb: Queensland becomes first state to require child safety training for childcare staff, Australian Centre for Child Protection, The Australian

26 Feb: Training for all to keep kids safe in care, Australian Centre for Child Protection, The Australian

26 Feb: National mandatory child safety training for early childhood care and education services starts tomorrow, Australian Centre for Child Protection, The National Tribune

26 Feb: Mandatory Child Safety Training for Childcare Begins, Prof Leah Bromfield, Mirage News

26 Feb: Funding axe looms for nine childcare centres failing standards, Australian Centre for Child Protection, ABC News Online

26 Feb: Child safety training will be mandatory for all staff at early learning centres across the state from tomorrow, Australian Centre for Child Protection, Seven News

27 Feb: Funding cuts, national worker registry among reforms in Labor’s childcare crackdown, Australian Centre for Child Protection, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail, Herald Sun, plus 30 more

27 Feb: Nine Australian childcare centres could be stripped of taxpayer funding, Australian Centre for Child Protection, ABC News Radio and 20 other regional stations

27 Feb: A National Register for Workers in the Early Childhood Education and Care sector is now in place, Australian Centre for Child Protection, 2SM and 20 other regional radio stations

27 Feb: News updates, Australian Centre for Child Protection, ABC News Radio and 20 other regional stations

27 Feb: News headlines, Australian Centre for Child Protection, Channel 10

13 Apr: Digital Technology in Early Childhood: What Research Shows, Australian Centre for Child Protection, Education Daily

17 Apr: Community of practice resources released to support national child safety training, Australian Centre for Child Protection, The Sector

27 Apr: Compulsory safety training ramps up online to tackle childcare abuse crisis, Australian Centre for Child Protection, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Brisbane Times and WA Today

27 Apr: Childcare Safety Overhaul: Two-Thirds of Workers Complete Mandatory Training | Education & Childcare, Australian Centre for Child Protection, Head Topics website

29 Apr: Early educators embrace new mandatory child safety training, Australian Centre for Child Protection, The Sector

Chamberlain, C., Sundbery, J., Segal, L., Krakouer, J., Langton, M., Donnelly, J., Marriott, R. + 44 more. Replanting the Birthing Trees to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and babies: protocol for developmental evaluation of a comprehensive culturally responsive, trauma-aware, healing-informed, continuity of care(r) model. January 2026, Frontiers in Public Health

Herbert, J., Tindal, R., Mitchell, M., Warrington, C., & Bovarnick, S. Centering the Child's Experience: A Synthesis of Evidence for Measuring Outcomes in Barnahus. April 2026, Child Abuse & Neglect.

Herbert, J., Tindal, R., Mitchell, M., Warrington, C., & Bovarnick, S. Child Outcomes Review: Children's Experiences of Barnahus and Related Services. March 2026. Adelaide University.

Herbert, J., Tindal, R., Mitchell, M., Warrington, C., & Bovarnick, S. Collaboration Quality Review: Approaches to Measure Collaboration Quality in the Context of Barnahus. March 2026. Adelaide University.

Jones, J., Moodie, S., Chenhall, R., Brook, J., Williams, R., Davis, K., Garlett, C., Gibberd, A., Banks, E., Harrap, B., O’Donnell, M., McNamara, B., & Eades, S. ‘Our babies are our gold’: The experiences of Aboriginal kinship carers in Western Australia. April 2026, Children and Youth Services Review.

Mucabel-Bue, N., Onwuka, S., Gray, P., O’Donnell, M., Herrman, H., Gayde, R., Stewart, S., Jones, K.A., Fisher, J., Chamberlain, C & Krakouer, J. (2025) Keeping ourselves safe from the system’: Perinatal care model considerations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families intersecting with child protection . Australian Journal of Social Issues.

Taplin, S., Brown, J., Marriott, R., Broadhurst, K., Wulczyn, F., & O’Donnell, M. What happens after a child protection report during pregnancy? Using administrative data to explore 12-month outcomes. April 2026, Children and Youth Services Review.