The Queensland government will invest $250 million to establish an agency aimed at improving the protection of children from sexual abuse, in response to a review that found multiple opportunities were missed to stop one of Australia’s most notorious paedophiles.
A report by the Child Death Review Board found there were more than 18 points where Ashley Paul Griffith’s offending could have been detected or disrupted earlier.
Griffith was sentenced to life in prison in 2024 with a non-parole period of 27 years, after pleading guilty to more than 300 charges committed in childcare centres in Brisbane and Italy over almost two decades.
Ashley Paul Griffith was sentenced to life in prison in Brisbane. (Supplied)
The government commissioned a 10-month review into system responses to child sexual abuse using Griffith’s offending as a case study.
In response to the review on Tuesday, Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the Queensland Protection Commission would be established to provide a single point of leadership, coordination and accountability for the wellbeing and safety of children.
Ms Frecklington said the measures being introduced by the government, particularly improvements to information sharing, would have led to Griffith’s offending being identified earlier.
“He was able to get away with it,” she said.
“That’s why we must not repeat the failures of the past.“
The review found information and “warning signs” about Griffith were raised and recorded across different organisations and agencies, but this was not shared.
Ms Frecklington said the commission would ensure knowledge gained in one area would readily inform decisions in another, improving accountability and clarity.
“Resulting in threats detected earlier, offenders disrupted and Queensland children made safer,” she said.
Ms Frecklington said the commission would create a long-overdue focus on protection and early detection.
“We believe that while chasing crime is a priority, protecting our children is a non-negotiable,” she said.
Ms Frecklington said the government would introduce legislation for the agency to start its work in February 2027.
Deb Frecklington says legislation will be introduced to establish the Queensland Protection Commission. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
Hub to analyse data across departments
From March 2028, the commission will host an intelligence hub to collect and explore information held by departments and agencies to reveal patterns of concern and abuse.
“The hub will collect, analyse, connect and act on vital pieces of intelligence across agencies and sectors to eliminate the risk of child offending before it becomes harm,” she said.
Ms Frecklington said the commission and hub were two recommendations of the report and addressed the two “twin fault lines” of disaggregated information sharing and the heavy reliance on threshold-based intervention.
The commission will permanently house experts from the Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Families, Department of Youth Justice and importantly, Queensland Police.
Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston said she had been lobbying for such change for more than 10 years and it was pleasing to see the interests of children prioritised.
Hetty Johnston says she is excited by the changes for the children that it will help protect. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
“I could cry, I’m just so excited for this, for the kids,” she said.
“It’s what’s needed … we can’t just keep tinkering around the edges at this.“
The government has accepted 24 recommendations and accepted in principle or noted four of the recommendations from the review.
The report’s 28 recommendations included that the federal and state governments each produce a public statement outlining the strategic transformation they commit to leading.
The government has previously announced the Reportable Conduct Scheme would come into effect from July, a year earlier than expected.
Reportable conduct schemes were a recommendation of the 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The commission will bring together the Reportable Conduct Scheme and blue card responsibilities in a bid for a stronger and more coordinated approach.
Shadow Attorney-General Meaghan Scanlon said Labor would work with the government and carefully examine the details.
“We want to make sure the work that has been undertaken as part of this review is considered carefully and implemented in the way that those that did this review anticipated,” she said.
In the report, the board said the recommendations should not become a “transactional checklist”, but rather called on both the federal and state governments to take time to develop a strategic and funded response.
Last week Griffith lost an appeal to reduce his non-parole period.
Ms Frecklington said Griffith would be moved to New South Wales “soon”, where he is accused of similar alleged offending, with the matter to be determined by the court.
