Database to stop kid abuse monsters
A NATIONAL child protection database covering every at-risk child has been set up to aim to ensure a horrific tale of family incest and abuse can never happen again.
Almost nine years since the secrets of one of the most bizarre and depraved of family histories started coming to light, state and territory governments have joined to established a means of tracking redflagged families.
The tragedy of the Colt family – as they were known in the courts – was not only the incest and the abuse members endured, but that authorities appeared to be unaware of the extent of the depravity as they moved interstate.
Designed in NSW, the Connect For Safety database will endeavour to stop families who are known to authorities in one state or territory from slipping from the attention of authorities in another state or territory once they move.
Instead, child protection workers will be able to access information, such as details of alleged abuse or neglect when dealing with a family from another jurisdiction.
Children are often at heightened risk of harm if their background in a previous jurisdiction is unknown, or not easily accessible to child protection authorities.
With most state and territory jurisdictions already signed up to the database, Tasmania is expected to come on board later this year.
Every child protection officer in Australia will be able to access files across the nation by July 2022. It can be revealed the database has been accessed more than 800 times in one month already.
NSW Families, Communities and Disability Services Minister Alister Henskens said the Colt family was an example of the “horrific” abuse and neglect the database aimed to prevent.
Arriving in Australia from New Zealand in the 1970s, the family came first to South Australia with their six children before moving to Victoria, South Australia again, then Western Australia, before ending up in NSW.
Given the pseudonym “Colt” by authorities, the family grew to almost 40 with various members engaging in incest. Many of the children suffered from deformities and medical problems.
So shocking were the activities on the property that the case was described by lead investigator Peter Yeomans as “like nothing I’ve ever seen”.
NSW authorities later learnt the family had been on the radar of their interstate counterparts, but moved before any investigations were undertaken.
Mr Henskens said allowing information to be shared could be the difference between preventing child abuse or neglect, and having it go undetected.
“The Colt family is an example of the horrific abuse and neglect that this initiative seeks to prevent,” he said.
“This world-leading platform … is creating a stronger safety net for at-risk kids by enabling the exchange of data quickly, easily and securely between state and territory child protection agencies.”
Describing the project as “groundbreaking”, federal Social Services Minister Anne Ruston said it would make it easier for child protection workers to get “clarity” around a child and addressed recommendations from the royal commission into child abuse.