The ACT's minister for children has failed to answer questions as to whether Care and Youth Protection Services intervened before the 2016 death of nine-year-old Bradyn Dillon, despite the boy suffering abuse for at least one year at the hands of his father.
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Graham Dillon on Tuesday pleaded guilty to the murder of his son and five other violent crimes against the boy in the lead-up to his death in February 2016.
It was revealed in court documents Dillon repeatedly assaulted his son from December 2014 before a final attack rendered the boy unconscious in February 2016. Bradyn never woke up.
The documents detailed more than 70 bruises and cuts on Bradyn's body.
Still child protection services in Canberra did not step in and children and youth minister Rachel Stephen-Smith would not explain why, citing the ongoing court case.
Dillon will be sentenced for the crimes in December.
"The Bradyn Dillon case is really tragic and the first thing I want to say is extend my heartfelt condolences to Bradyn's mother and the whole family," Ms Stephen-Smith said on Wednesday.
"I can't talk really about the specific case because it is before the courts but I can say that a lot of lessons have been learnt, processes have been changed as a result of the Glanfield review and other considerations of the Bradyn Dillon case, particularly around the way care teams are formed and supported within care and protection and the way information is gathered and shared.
"There is a project that's received some additional funding in this year's budget to improve the data management of the case management IT system to ensure that case teams receive all of the historical information they need to make really good decisions in the best interest of children and young people."
Asked if that meant child protection officials did not have all of the information in Bradyn's case, Ms Stephen-Smith again reiterated she would not make any specific comment about his situation.
Education minister Yvette Berry was similarly unable to answer if Bradyn's school had noticed signs of abuse and reported it to child protection officials, citing legislation that barred divulging any information that could identify a person who had made a child concern report.
She noted the Education Directorate had strengthened supports for children to attend school and implemented mechanisms with other agencies to support families where there are concerns with school attendance.
"The circumstances of Bradyn's death are incredibly tragic and the ACT government has been working to do everything possible across government and community services to ensure it cannot happen again," Ms Berry said.
Bradyn's death was the catalyst for a report by Laurie Glanfield into systemic issues in the way the ACT responded to family violence and the interaction between the family violence and child protection sectors.
The report did not look at who was responsible for Bradyn's death, saying that was a matter for the criminal and coronial courts.
However Mr Glanfield made 31 recommendations, including the creation of a coordinator-general for family safety within government, and the establishment of a one-stop shop Family Safety Hub to ensure integrated and coordinated services were provided to families at risk of family violence.
Earlier this month Ms Stephen-Smith told the ACT Legislative Assembly government official including the Office of the Coordinator-General for Family Safety, have met four times since December 2016 to consider which decisions made by child and youth protection services should be subject to either internal or external review.
She said a collaboration framework was being developed for child and youth protection services to guide how government and community organisations could make decisions together.
If you or someone you know is impacted by domestic or family violence, call the ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Service 24-hour crisis line on 6280 0900. In an emergency, call 000.
