The latest Report on Government Services (ROGS) 2025 provides a critical analysis of South Australia’s child protection system, highlighting areas of progress while underscoring persistent challenges that require urgent attention.
The Guardian publishes an annual report monitoring key outcomes for children and young people in care, based on the ROGS 2025 data.
This year’s analysis indicated that South Australia is showing signs of stabilising the number of children entering care, with the total number of children in care increasing by 0.7% in 2023-24. It also showed increased expenditure in the area of family support and intensive family support services, indicating a stronger focus on early intervention to keep families together.
However, it also showed that deeper structural reforms are needed. Efforts to prioritise family-based placements, enhance placement stability, and address the systemic overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in care must be at the forefront of policy reforms.
Some of the key areas of concerns were:
- The number of children in residential care continues to rise, now representing 17.3% of all children in OOHC in SA—one of the highest rates in the country.
- Placement stability remains a serious issue, with 13.3% of children exiting care in 2023-24 after at least two years experiencing more than ten different placements.
- The proportion of Aboriginal children in OOHC remains disproportionately high, with one in eleven Aboriginal children in South Australia currently in care.
- The total number of children in care increased by 0.7% in 2023-24, despite national figures showing a decline.
- NAPLAN results show a stark difference in education outcomes from children in care compared to their peers.
- Investment in family preservation and support services remains insufficient.
Children missing out on family-based environments
Residential care is an institutional environment based on rotating shifts of paid workers – and it’s uncontroversial to say that families are better at growing up children and young people than institutional environments.
In the short-term, residential care can have positive results for children and young people and provide intensive therapeutic care services, support young people who want to transition to independent living options, or keep siblings together.
But as a long-term care arrangement, it is mostly associated with poor wellbeing outcomes.
Despite this, SA continues to have the highest per capita rate of children living in residential care, compared to the rest of the country – with approximately 1 in 500 children in the state living in residential care.
Residential care costs the government 8.5 times more than supporting a child in a family-based environment. This high cost can make residential care a target for cost‑cutting in child protection budgets – but it is essential to challenge this approach.
High expenditure on residential care services is not really being directed towards the lives of children and young people. It goes to purchasing or leasing properties, and paying carers a wage.
The number of children and young people in residential care increased 3.7% between 2023 and 2024, with residential care now accounting for about 17.3% of the state’s total out-of-home care population.
Children moving to more than 10 placements
ROGs data also highlighted South Australia has a lot of work to do to improve placement stability for children in out-of-home care.
There were some signs of improvement for children who were in care for two or more years in 2023-24, with 88.5% of them having lived in between one or two placements over the past two years.
This is slightly up from last year’s figure of 86.5% but should be judged in the context of other placement stability indicators that consider a longer period of a child’s life.
In fact, one in eight children (13.3%) who were in care for more than two years and exited in 2023-24 had experienced more than 10 placements while in care.
That figure rose by 1.3 percentage points, from 12.0%, in 2022-23 and was more than double the national figure of 5.4%.
Placement instability has long-term effects on children’s well-being, making it harder for them to succeed after leaving care.
Focusing only on children with fewer placements ignores the struggles of those who are moved frequently. More focus is needed on improving overall placement stability and support for children transitioning out of care, rather than just reporting positive statistics.
Meeting the intent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle
One in eleven Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in South Australia were in care as of June 2024.
Over the past five years, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in care has increased by 33.6%, compared to 17.8% for non-Aboriginal children.
These are alarming and outrageous figures, which highlight that South Australia is not making progress to meet Close The Gap Target 12.
This year’s ROGS did highlight some positive signs for Aboriginal children that The Guardian will continue to monitor in future years. This includes:
- A small decrease in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in residential care – of 6 children (2.1%)
- An increase of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children placed with relatives and kin, with 54.9% placed in 2023 compared to 55.9% placed in June 2024.
But much of this change in the figures around being placed with family is due to government definitions of ‘relative and kin’ care, rather than actual placements with family members.
Compared to five years ago, there was a lower proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children placed with Aboriginal carers, while placements with non-Aboriginal carers have increased.
These results indicate that current policies and resources are favouring supporting non-Aboriginal carers rather than Aboriginal family-based placements.
A major shift is needed to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children grow up in Aboriginal families and communities, as intended by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle.
Where to from here?
Other areas of progress The Guardian found in analysing ROGS this year, include:
- An overall increase in both the number and proportion of children in care placed with relatives/kin.
- Slower rate of growth of children in care and in residential care, compared to recent years.
- Increased expenditure for family support and intensive family support services.
While these are positive signs, South Australia must remain purposeful towards progressing the intent of child protection reform to be put on the right trajectory.
Legislative, policy and practice reforms, as well as investment commitments are required to create a sustainable child protection system that prioritises children’s wellbeing.
Given the Children and Young People Safety and Support Bill 2024 is currently before parliament, we must reflect on whether this piece of legislation will support outcomes South Australia’s children deserve.
The Guardian has made three separate submissions outlining why the bill will not achieve reform required and, in some areas, may move the system in the wrong direction.
The reform we need is critical, and we can’t afford to get it wrong.
A full copy of the Guardian’s report and factsheet analysing the ROGS 2025 can be found on our website.
