Pulse ·

Data gaps hide the suicide risk facing children in out-of-home care

By Dr HB Lo, FACRRM 4 min read
Verdict Yes — worth knowing about

Children in out-of-home care are more than three times as likely to attempt self-harm or suicide as children not in care, per an Australian Catholic University review. National data is fragmented — several states declined to provide figures.

First Nations children are over-represented in out-of-home care and face higher risk. Victoria recorded 45 deaths by suicide among children known to child protection since 2017, alongside 800 self-harm incidents last financial year.

GPs are a key touchpoint. A lower threshold for mental health referral and asking about placement are practical responses. Researchers are calling for AIHW to collate national data as a foundation for any prevention effort.

Content note: this post discusses suicide and self-harm among children. Crisis support resources are listed at the end.

Australia does not know how many children in out-of-home care die by suicide each year. Not with any confidence, and not in a way that would let researchers design prevention efforts for them. A new ABC News investigation this week mapped what data does exist across jurisdictions — and the picture it assembled is more about what is missing than what is known.

That absence of data is not neutral. Children in out-of-home care are more than three times as likely to attempt self-harm or die by suicide as children not in the care system, according to an Australian Catholic University review. They have often experienced severe abuse, neglect, and trauma before entering care. Many are very young. The youngest recorded in Northern Territory coronial data was nine years old.

This is not a rare or fringe concern for GPs. Children in care are in waiting rooms. They are on school health programs. They present through emergency departments. The question is whether the health system is recognising the specific nature of their risk.

What the data does — and doesn’t — show

The ABC investigation assembled what figures it could from each state and territory.

Victoria has the most detailed picture: 45 deaths by suicide of children known to child protection since July 2017, including six Aboriginal children. The Victorian Commission for Children and Young People also recorded 800 self-harm incidents and 115 suicide attempts among children in care in the most recent financial year.

NSW recorded 8 deaths in out-of-home care between 2012 and 2022 — five of them First Nations children. Queensland recorded 12 deaths between 2014 and 2025. The Northern Territory recorded 11 coronial inquests into young people who died by suicide between 2014 and 2023, three of whom were in care.

Tasmania, the ACT, and South Australia declined to provide data, citing small numbers and identification risk.

The problem is that “small numbers” is partly a reason to decline and partly a reason to be alarmed. Professor Daryl Higgins, director of the ACU Institute of Child Protection Studies, was direct about this: without consistent national data, researchers cannot design targeted prevention. Investment in new interventions requires a clear picture of where the need is concentrated.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare could collect and publish this data — but doing so requires all-of-government agreement across every state and territory. That agreement does not currently exist.

Both-and: why this gap persists, and what it protects against

There is a genuine tension here. The states that declined to report were not simply being obstructive. Small numbers do create real risks of identifying families. In communities where Aboriginal children are already over-represented in both care and in death, public data can expose families to community harm. Those concerns are legitimate.

The problem is that using privacy as a reason not to collect data at all — rather than to collect it carefully, with appropriate protections — means the people most at risk remain invisible to the systems designed to protect them. Sue-Anne Hunter, National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, put it plainly: the current situation means funding and prevention efforts are misdirected because the picture is incomplete.

What compounds the problem is the timeline for mental health support after entering care. In some states, mental health screening on entry to care takes three to six months. For children who have already experienced significant trauma and are now navigating a new placement, that is a long time to wait for an assessment of their emotional state.

Victoria made a recommendation in 2019 to develop a suicide prevention strategy specifically for children in out-of-home care. At the time of the ABC investigation, no progress had been made.

2 cents: what this means for your terrain this week

For GPs: children and young people who are known to be in out-of-home care — or whose home situation is unstable — warrant a lower threshold for mental health assessment and referral. You may not always know a young patient is in care. Asking about their home situation, in a non-intrusive way, is good clinical practice regardless.

The HEADS-ED tool and similar brief screening instruments used in paediatric emergency settings can be adapted for GP consultations with adolescents. If a young patient discloses instability in their home, or recent changes in placement, that is a signal worth following.

For anyone in contact with a young person in care who is struggling: connection to a GP is a concrete action. So is a referral to Headspace. The evidence behind peer connection and cultural connection for First Nations young people is also strong — Aunty Muriel Bamblett of the Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency noted this as a protective factor that the care system frequently severs.

The advocacy ask from researchers is narrow but specific: they want the AIHW to be tasked with collecting this data nationally, with appropriate protections. That is a policy conversation. It starts with people who treat, care for, and vote.

Verdict: yes — worth knowing about.

If you or someone you know needs support:

Sources cited

  1. Advocates call for greater transparency on youth suicides in out-of-home care — ABC News, 23 Oct 2026
  2. Mindframe safe messaging guidelines — Suicide Prevention Australia

Frequently asked questions

  • What can I do if I'm worried about a young person in out-of-home care?

    If you are concerned about a young person's safety right now, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800. If they are in immediate danger, call 000. If this is a general concern about wellbeing, speaking with their GP, their caseworker, or a school counsellor is a good starting point. Early identification and connection to appropriate support is what the evidence supports.

  • Why is the national data on child suicide in care so incomplete?

    Each state and territory collects data differently. Some do not record whether a child who died was in out-of-home care; some declined to provide data to researchers citing small numbers and identification risks. The AIHW could potentially collate and publish this data, but doing so requires all-of-government agreement. Researchers are calling for this as a foundation for any meaningful prevention effort.