Queensland’s Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm has affirmed that no children have slept on the floors of Child Safety offices since her department began cutting funding to unlicensed residential care providers. Speaking to the media on Saturday, Camm defended the department’s decision to defund certain providers, emphasizing a focus on the wellbeing of vulnerable children.

Camm described the policy as a deliberate move to remove support from for-profit providers she said were not acting in the best interests of children. She criticized some providers for profiting from vulnerable children and highlighted concerns about alleged sexual abuse and inadequate oversight within some organisations. While she declined to specify how many providers had been referred for investigation or the exact number of children removed, she stressed the department’s commitment to due diligence and child safety in transitioning children away from such providers.

The minister acknowledged that in some circumstances, children have temporarily slept in Child Safety offices, but she insisted this occurs only when children are removed from dangerous environments involving domestic violence, assault, or drug exposure, and no immediate placement is available. She expressed gratitude to charities that have contributed bedding and clothing to support children in crisis situations, noting that the aim is to provide safety, dignity, and appropriate space during emergency interventions.

Camm said the department’s preferred approach remains placing children with foster carers first, resorting to licensed residential care homes only when foster placements are not possible.

The opposition raised concerns about the handling of the policy changes. Shadow Attorney-General Meaghan Scanlon said that Child Safety staff and services reported children sleeping on office floors as a direct result of Ms. Camm’s directive to cut ties with unlicensed providers. While agreeing in principle with the defunding of unlicensed providers, Scanlon criticised the minister’s approach and expressed worries about a lack of a clear plan to accommodate children removed from those care settings.

As the Queensland government phases out contracts with unlicensed residential care providers, scrutiny continues over how the department manages placements and safeguards the rights and welfare of children in its care.