Child protection NMDS 2018-19

Identifying and definitional attributes

• Children and Families, Superseded 26/05/2021

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) endorsed the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009–2020 (COAG 2009) on 30 April 2009, demonstrating all governments’ commitment to achieving a substantial and sustained reduction in child abuse and neglect in Australia. The development of a unit record data collection is seen as a major project under the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children.

Although each jurisdiction has its own legislation, policies and practices in relation to child protection, the processes used to protect children are broadly similar (AIFS: Bromfield & Higgins 2005). A simplified version of the main processes used in child protection systems across Australia is shown in Figure 1.1

The Child Protection National Minimum Data Set (2018-19) pertains to all children who had an involvement in any component of the child protection system throughout Australia in 2018-19. Children and young people are defined as those aged less than 18 years, including unborn children in jurisdictions where they are covered under the child protection legislation.

The data relate to notifications, investigations and substantiations, children on care and protection orders, living arrangements for children under care (including children in funded out-of-home care and/or on orders), carers who were authorised to provide home-based out-of-home-care placements, National Out-of-Home Care Standards (i.e. children and young people aged 0-17 years whose care arrangements were ordered through the Children's Court, where parental responsibility for the child or young person was transferred to the Minister/Chief Executive), and siblings. 

Additional information is collected to provide demographic details for each child protection client.

The Child Protection NMDS 2018-19 contains seven components all of which contain unit record level data:

• child protection (CP) client file cluster
• notifications, investigations and substantiations (NIS) file cluster
• care and protection order (CPO) file cluster
• living arrangements for children under care (LA) file cluster
• carer household authorisation file cluster
• National Out-of-Home Care Standards file cluster
• sibling file cluster.

Collection and usage attributes

Data are extracted as at 31 August. The 2018-19 reporting period is the main collection period. Data for 2017-18 are also collected to allow specific calculations to be undertaken.

Source and reference attributes

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) 2019. Child protection national minimum data set, data collection manual 2018-19. Canberra: AIHW.

AIFS (Australian Institute of Family Studies): Bromfield L & Higgins DJ 2005. National comparison of child protection systems. Melbourne: AIFS.

Council of Australian Governments 2009. Protecting Children is Everyone's Business. National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2009-2020. FACHSIA. Viewed 18 March 2011,
https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/families-and-children/publications-articles/protecting-children-is-everyones-business.

Relational attributes