Away from Placement Inquiry

‘Away from placement’ refers to children and young people spending unapproved time away from their ITC placement, whether for short, repeated or extended periods. Time away from placement is considered ‘unapproved’ when a child or young person leaves placement without permission.

Children and young people who spend time away from their placement can be exposed to significant risks to their safety, welfare and wellbeing and may miss out on important relationships, connections and supports.

We received information and stakeholder submissions about this issue during the 2025 ITC inquiry which found that:

‘Children in ITC placements who then leave their placement (assessed as ‘not in placement’) are highly vulnerable to exploitation, homelessness, and harm. These children do not receive the minimum standard of care other children in OOHC receive and have no authorised safe place to return to.’

Intensive Therapeutic Care (ITC) is a residential out-of-home (OOHC) program for children and young people with ‘complex needs who are either unable to be supported in foster care or require specialised and intensive supports to maintain stability in their care arrangements’.

We have chosen to focus on ITC placements because:

• concerns were raised in our ITC Inquiry about children assessed as ‘not in placement’

• stakeholders told us about their concerns about children and young people being absent from all types of residential care

• we received data from the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) which showed that proportionally more children and young people were absent from all types of residential care when compared to other placement types (such as foster care and kinship care).

Our ITC Inquiry considered systemic issues relating to ITC and made 12 recommendations.

The inquiry will focus on children being away from their ITC placement.

This includes circumstances within and outside DCJ’s Permanency Support Program (PSP) Away from Placement Policy (2022) (Away from Placement Policy), including shorter absences not recorded as ‘away from placement events’ under the policy (for example, absences without permission for less than 24 hours).

We are interested in children and young people’s experiences who:

• are absent and their location is unknown

• are staying with family, peers, partners, others or independently without approval

• no longer have an open ITC placement to return to because the placement was closed following an extended absence (‘not in placement’).

We will gather information from multiple sources including:

• hearing directly from children and young people who have lived experience spending time away from their ITC placement through a voluntary survey and/or interview

• hearing directly from people working directly with children and young people in OOHC who are/have been away from their ITC placement through a voluntary survey and/or interview

• receiving submissions in response to our consultation paper from any individual or organisation that wants to participate in the Inquiry

• consultation with stakeholders including peak bodies, advocacy groups, ITC Service Providers and other agencies supporting children and young people away from their placement.

We will also look at literature, policies and data relevant to examining the issue of children and young people away from placement.

Yes.

We are committed to upholding the human rights of all children and young people to promote their safety, welfare and wellbeing in our work. In doing so, we commit to seek out, listen to, and support their meaningful participation in issues that affect them. These commitments are set out in our draft Statement of Commitment to Children’s Rights.

Hearing directly from children and young people in OOHC with lived experience of being away from their placement, places their voices, experiences and ideas about what needs to change at the centre of this Inquiry.

Children and young people can decide how they would like to participate.

Information about how children and young people can participate can be found here.

Yes.

Aboriginal children and young people are significantly over-represented in ITC placements. We recognise the importance of understanding their experiences through a cultural lens, including the role of family, kin, community, and connection to culture and Country.

We want Aboriginal people to feel safe and supported when participating in this inquiry. You are welcome to participate with a trusted support person, or to contact the inquiry team to find out what cultural support is available.

We particularly encourage Aboriginal children and young people, families, communities, organisations and advocates to share their experiences, perspectives and ideas for improvement.

Aboriginal staff will provide cultural advice throughout the inquiry to help inform consultation, analysis, and reporting through:

• cultural safety in project design, including engagement strategies for children and stakeholder reflections on how to ensure culturally responsive thematic analysis of information gathered

• developing and producing culturally responsive and accessible reports and recommendations.

Yes.

Frontline workers often have direct experiences supporting children and young people before, during, and after periods away from placement, and can provide important insights into what does and does not work, and why.

Frontline workers can choose to participate in the inquiry through surveys, meetings or making a submission. These will provide important information about operational challenges, effective practices and opportunities for improvement.

Workers may participate regardless of whether their employer makes a separate submission.

Yes.

Families often have unique insights into why their children spend time away from placement, where they go, what support they need, and what helps them feel safe, connected and supported.

We particularly encourage parents, siblings, extended family members and kin to share their experiences and perspectives, including what they believe contributes to children and young people spending time away from placement and what could improve outcomes for children and families.

The information you provide in submissions, surveys or interviews will help us better understand why children and young people spend time away from their ITC placement, what happens while they are away and how agencies and services respond.

We will consider your information alongside other information gathered during the inquiry. It may help us:

• identify and better understand important issues and emerging themes

• test and compare information provided by other participants

• identify examples of effective practice and opportunities for improvement

• inform our findings and recommendations in our Special Report to Parliament.

No.

We would also like to hear about effective practices and responses to children and young people before they leave placement, and in supporting their safety, welfare and wellbeing while they are away. This will help inform any recommendations or opportunities to strengthen supports, safeguards and system responses.

This is an opportunity for individuals or groups to share their knowledge and experience with children and young people who are away from their ITC placement. Details on how to make a submission are outlined in our Consultation Paper.

We are aiming to have the final report with any recommendations tabled in Parliament in February 2027.

We understand you may have concerns about the privacy and confidentiality of any information you provide to us. We have strict statutory non-disclosure obligations to protect the privacy and confidentiality of people who provide information and any person who is referred to in that information.

Once the inquiry is completed, we will prepare a Special Report to Parliament (the Report) about what we have found and our recommendations. The Report will be available on our website.

We will not publish the names of people who provide information, are interviewed or make submissions without their consent. We will also not publish the full submissions. The Report will include information about how many surveys, submissions, interviews and consultations we received or conducted and may also include information about the groups of stakeholders involved (for example how many families, providers, researchers etc).

If we refer to or quote part of your interview, consultation or submission in our Report, we will not publish your name or any information that identifies you without your consent. We will also not publish the names of any other persons or providers you mention in your submission.

There are protections in the Ombudsman Act 1974 and the Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993 for people who provide information to the Ombudsman. This means that no one can take detrimental action against you in relation to the information you provide, and that we cannot disclose or use your submission except in limited circumstances or with your consent. These limited circumstances include use for other Ombudsman functions, such as if you provide information which raises serious matters of maladministration, corrupt conduct or concerns about the care of children and young people.

You are welcome to contact us on awayfromplacement.inquiry@ombo.nsw.gov.au or 0436 618 296 if you have questions about how we will use any information you provide, or to discuss your concerns about privacy or confidentiality.

You can speak with the Away from Placement Inquiry team by contacting our mailbox at: awayfromplacement.inquiry@ombo.nsw.gov.au or by calling 0436 618 296.