Baby Q ‘safe’ with parents

No concerns, inquest told

Social workers in NSW and Queensland found there were no safety concerns for a homeless family only weeks before the mentally ill father drowned his nine-month-old daughter, an inquest has been told.

The baby was thrown into the river at Tweed Heads on November 17, 2018. Her lifeless body washed ashore two days later at Surfers Paradise.

The circumstances of the death of the infant, referred to as baby Q, are being examined by the NSW State Coroners Court.

Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame has been told the child’s family were frequently homeless in the year before her death and both parents lived with serious mental illnesses.

The inquest was told that in the months leading up to the tragedy, the homeless family had interacted with several government and non-government agencies in NSW and Queensland.

Child safety services in two states had assessed the family, deeming the children were safe with their parents before the baby was killed by her father.

An assessment conducted in Queensland in May 2018 determined the children were not in need of protection because their mother would shield them from risks, including her alcoholic partner.

Queensland Department of Child Safety regional executive director Tracey Ryan told the inquest the conclusion was based on “relatively shallow engagement with the family”.

The assessment was based on six visits to the family, but Ms Ryan noted the father had been absent and the effect of his drinking on the children should have been “better assessed”. She told the court case workers had been unaware of the mother’s mental health diagnoses at the time, but they made a “mistake” by not obtaining the father’s mental health history.

“That range of mental health factors and (the father’s) intoxication probably wasn’t taken into account as it should have been,” Ms Ryan said.

The “safe” determination of the report relied on the mother’s assertions that her partner stayed away from home when he was drunk, which were disproved in October 2018.

The inquest was told police were called after the father had been intoxicated and aggressive in front of his children, but social workers ultimately determined the kids were not at risk.

“While it is worrying that the children have been exposed to their father’s drunkenness and aggressive behaviour, there is no evidence (they) were upset … or harmed as a result of the exposure,” the report read.

Ms Ryan said the children’s lack of response to their father’s aggression should have instead raised “a big red flag” for case workers.

“In this instance I think this was an error, I think it was a misunderstanding,” she told the court.

Ms Ryan agreed case workers appeared to be relying on previous “safe” designations instead of drawing fresh conclusions.

The department’s response to the homeless family was deemed inadequate after the baby’s death, with a review panel finding it had provided a “superficial response to complex issues”.

The inquest continues.