The Queensland government is launching an urgent investigation after staff reported serious issues with their child safety information system — “Unify” — which may have led to missing or inaccessible data about vulnerable children. The Department of Child Safety says the implications are severe, including possible risk to children whose information has not migrated properly.
What Happened
The system “Unify,” implemented in April, is used to track children currently in care, those previously known to child safety, and ongoing case management files.
It is alleged that some data either failed to migrate from older systems or was lost entirely. Officials say there is missing information affecting almost 16,000 children .
. Front-line staff reported that they cannot reliably access or enter accurate data, meaning some case files are incomplete and some crucial court orders and histories may be missing.
Government Response & Risk Assessment
Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm has said that a system failure of this size could lead to serious consequences, including “the death of a child,” if necessary information is not available when required.
has said that a system failure of this size could lead to serious consequences, including “the death of a child,” if necessary information is not available when required. She described affected staff being “flying blind,” forced to use workarounds such as Word documents and manual data entry, which increases risk of error or oversight.
The government has announced that a full audit will begin next week, expected to take six to eight weeks, to identify what data is missing, why it was lost or not migrated, and how to rectify it.
Political Fallout & Accountability
The current administration has blamed flaws in the implementation of the Unify system—funded under a previous government—suggesting that earlier oversight and procurement may have been inadequate.
Opposition parties have criticized delays and lack of transparency, arguing that the public should have been informed sooner, and demanding immediate remedial action.
What It Means for Child Protection
Missing or inaccessible data in child safety systems can undermine legal proceedings (such as court orders), risk children being overlooked, and reduce interagency coordination.
This kind of systemic failure weakens the capacity of caseworkers to make timely decisions based on full client history, putting the most vulnerable children at risk.
What to Expect Next
[SRC] https://theabj.com.au/2025/09/20/queensland-it-error-child-safety-data-missing/
