Residential Care is Failing Children: Safety and Therapeutic Reform Urgently Needed

Wednesday 26 November – Residential care is failing the very children it is meant to protect. Too many receive no therapeutic support at all, leaving them exposed to further harm and compounding the trauma they have already endured. Unless governments act decisively to embed both safety and therapeutic care, vulnerable children will continue to be pushed towards youth justice.

The experiences of children like Alex, reported in the Herald Sun, expose a system that has cracked. These children have already endured abuse and neglect, it is why they are placed in care in the first place. Yet instead of protecting them, the current system compounds their trauma by leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and harm, increasing the likelihood they will be drawn into youth justice.

In a powerful study Australian Childhood Foundation partnered on in September 2025, young people living in residential care made clear what matters most to them. Healing depends on “recognitional practices” – deep listening, empathy, and consistent relationships that make children feel valued and safe. But systemic barriers such as placement instability, staff turnover, restrictive rules, and lack of cultural connection continue to undermine trust, leaving many young people without the therapeutic support they need.

“As adults, we have an obligation to protect children, especially those who have endured trauma. Yet time and again, we fail them,” said Janise Mitchell, CEO of the Australian Childhood Foundation. “Instead of supporting them in environments where they have the chance to heal and find hope, we leave them to navigate pain alone. In doing so, we heighten their risk of further harm and entrench their vulnerability.”

These failures are not isolated. They are the same trajectories that force many children into youth justice. It is critical that we build compassionate systems that can intervene earlier with safety, stability, and trauma informed therapeutic care to change these trajectories.

We call on government to urgently fix the residential care system, from stronger safeguards to better oversight and culturally safe practice. But at the heart of any change must be therapeutic support. Without environments that help children heal from trauma, no reform will succeed. At Australian Childhood Foundation, we know that safety and stability are essential, but it is therapeutic care that gives children the chance to recover, rebuild trust, and to ultimately thrive.

Media enquiries:

Gina Dafalia
PR and Communications
Phone: 0447558195
Email: gdafalia@childhood.org.au