The State’s most comprehensive Child Death Register has been developed by the Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC).
The new database system records the deaths of young people aged under 18 years in Queensland.
In a statement, the QFCC said that in order to produce the new and improved Register, it had extracted information from across the 17 years of recorded data it had collected in response to requests for information to support prevention initiatives and research.
“The information is used to highlight risk factors associated with child deaths and to make recommendations to prevent deaths from occurring,” the Commission said.
QFCC is responsible for maintaining a register of all child deaths and preparing an annual report on the information, as well as providing access to data to those undertaking research that will help reduce the likelihood of child deaths.
While the Register was first established in 2004, QFCC Principal Commissioner, Cheryl Vardon said the new system would enhance how sensitive information was captured.
“The death of any young Queenslander is heartbreaking for friends, family and communities. We must learn valuable lessons from these children’s stories on how to reduce and prevent future child deaths,” Ms Vardon said.
“The replacement database has enhanced functionality and captures quality information in a more structured way.”
She said it enabled the delivery of public education campaigns, Government policy and design programs to help reduce preventable child deaths.
