❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice regarding the whereabouts of children in care, following up on a previous question. The Minister provides updated information on the status of missing and unaccounted for children.
AnsweredQoN 103Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Children in care—Whereabouts unknown103.Hon Nick Goiranto
the minister representing the Minister for Child Protection:I refer to the answer to my question
without notice 1581, asked on 27 November 2024.(1)Has the one child who the Department of Communities reported
to the Western Australia Police Force as a missing person been found?(2)Have the five children recorded as "unaccounted for—not
in contact" been found?(3)Are the whereabouts of the 12 children recorded as
"unaccounted for—in contact" now known?(4)For how many days were the whereabouts of the 18 children
unknown, and have any reports been received of the children being victims of
crime during this period?(5)How many children who are in the care of the CEO have their
whereabouts currently recorded as:(a)unaccounted for—in contact;(b)unaccounted for—not in contact; and(c)missing?
the minister representing the Minister for Child Protection:I refer to the answer to my question
without notice 1581, asked on 27 November 2024.(1)Has the one child who the Department of Communities reported
to the Western Australia Police Force as a missing person been found?(2)Have the five children recorded as "unaccounted for—not
in contact" been found?(3)Are the whereabouts of the 12 children recorded as
"unaccounted for—in contact" now known?(4)For how many days were the whereabouts of the 18 children
unknown, and have any reports been received of the children being victims of
crime during this period?(5)How many children who are in the care of the CEO have their
whereabouts currently recorded as:(a)unaccounted for—in contact;(b)unaccounted for—not in contact; and(c)missing?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question. The following response has
been provided by the Minister for Child Protection.The Department of
Communities advises as at 29 April 2025:(1)
The young person's whereabouts are now known.(2)
The whereabouts of the five young people are now known.(3)
The whereabouts of 11 young people are now known. The whereabouts of one young
person were known and are again listed as "unaccounted for—in
contact".(4)
The period the 18 young people's whereabouts were unknown varied between one day
and 24 days. All reported or disclosed allegations or incidents relating to a
child in care being a victim of crime are treated as a priority, and are investigated
and responded to accordingly. Providing this information regularly to the member
requires a significant diversion of resources to crosscheck individual case
files to ensure no matters were reported following the period for which each
child was unaccounted. This diversion is not deemed an appropriate use of
frontline resources.(5)
There are:(a)
four;(b)
six; and(c)
none.
Children in care—Whereabouts unknown
103.Hon Nick Goiranto
the minister representing the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to the answer to my question
without notice 1581, asked on 27 November 2024.
(1)Has the one child who the Department of Communities reported
to the Western Australia Police Force as a missing person been found?
(2)Have the five children recorded as "unaccounted for—not
in contact" been found?
(3)Are the whereabouts of the 12 children recorded as
"unaccounted for—in contact" now known?
(4)For how many days were the whereabouts of the 18 children
unknown, and have any reports been received of the children being victims of
crime during this period?
(5)How many children who are in the care of the CEO have their
whereabouts currently recorded as:
(a)unaccounted for—in contact;
(b)unaccounted for—not in contact; and
(c)missing?
honourable member for some notice of the question. The following response has
been provided by the Minister for Child Protection.The Department of
Communities advises as at 29 April 2025:(1)
The young person's whereabouts are now known.(2)
The whereabouts of the five young people are now known.(3)
The whereabouts of 11 young people are now known. The whereabouts of one young
person were known and are again listed as "unaccounted for—in
contact".(4)
The period the 18 young people's whereabouts were unknown varied between one day
and 24 days. All reported or disclosed allegations or incidents relating to a
child in care being a victim of crime are treated as a priority, and are investigated
and responded to accordingly. Providing this information regularly to the member
requires a significant diversion of resources to crosscheck individual case
files to ensure no matters were reported following the period for which each
child was unaccounted. This diversion is not deemed an appropriate use of
frontline resources.(5)
There are:(a)
four;(b)
six; and(c)
none.
Children in care—Whereabouts unknown
103.Hon Nick Goiranto
the minister representing the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to the answer to my question
without notice 1581, asked on 27 November 2024.
(1)Has the one child who the Department of Communities reported
to the Western Australia Police Force as a missing person been found?
(2)Have the five children recorded as "unaccounted for—not
in contact" been found?
(3)Are the whereabouts of the 12 children recorded as
"unaccounted for—in contact" now known?
(4)For how many days were the whereabouts of the 18 children
unknown, and have any reports been received of the children being victims of
crime during this period?
(5)How many children who are in the care of the CEO have their
whereabouts currently recorded as:
(a)unaccounted for—in contact;
(b)unaccounted for—not in contact; and
(c)missing?
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.