An independent review into the Northern Territory child protection sector has detailed severe failures before the death of five year old Kumanjayi Little Baby. The Warlpiri girl was found dead in April, five days after she was allegedly abducted from a town camp in Alice Springs.
Police charged 47 year old Jefferson Lewis with murder. He was not a member of the child’s family and was not known to her mother. He remains remanded in custody and has not yet entered a plea.
The Northern Territory government commissioned the independent review following the child’s death. Former New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb and senior public servant Greg Shanahan conducted the investigation.
The findings identified key priorities. These include strengthening the child protection practice framework, improving its intersection with domestic and family violence, enhancing risk assessments, and better safety planning. This also involves adequately assessing the suitability of adults acting as carers.
Lawmakers told parliament that the report revealed a recurrent pattern in how police collaborated with the department. This dynamic allowed children to be placed in the care of adults without proper criminal background checks.
The department had known Kumanjayi Little Baby’s family since her mother was pregnant. Over six years, the family received 14 notifications regarding the child’s exposure to domestic and family violence.
Officials pointed to serious gaps between legal requirements and practical application. These included gaps in policy, process, and how risks to children were assessed.
The review found that when the child was 17 weeks old, authorities established a safety plan relying on adults from the family network. Investigators found no evidence that police conducted background checks on any of those individuals. It was later discovered that one adult in the network possessed a long and violent criminal history, which included five counts of threat to kill.
Opposition protection spokesperson Chansey Paech criticised the report for failing to address the root cause of the tragedy. He pointed out that the alleged perpetrator had been released from prison without housing, employment, transportation, money, rehabilitation, or supervision.
The Northern Territory government stated it has accepted all 45 recommendations contained within the report.
