Submission to the Queensland Child Death Review Board

Aug 2025

Australian Childhood Foundation’s submission to the Queensland Child Death Review Board highlights its decades of experience in child safeguarding and the importance of survivor voices in reform. Co-authored with Emma Hakansson, Chair of the Our Collective Experience Project Lived Experience Advisory Committee, it draws on insights from the Committee’s ten members and almost 350 survivors who contributed to the Hear Us Now, Act Now report.

The submission outlines what is working well in current responses to child sexual abuse and where urgent change is needed, aiming to strengthen systems, cultures, and practices. It calls for a more coordinated, proactive, and survivor-informed approach to preventing and responding to child sexual abuse in Queensland and across Australia.

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