CEOs in Queensland’s residential care sector receive salaries up to $679,000 annually, while some providers invest in gold and cryptocurrency, a recent financial review reveals. Sector expenses have surged to $1.12 billion per year in the latest financial year.
Rising Costs and Hearings Ahead
The Commission of Inquiry into the Child Safety System prepares for two weeks of hearings on residential care costs next week. Over the past decade, annual residential care spending has escalated from $200 million to $1.2 billion.
Minister Condemns High Salaries and Investments
Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm describes the findings as “nothing short of disgraceful.” She states, “It should cause Queenslanders real concern when it comes to our state’s most vulnerable children and the way they have been cared for over the past decade.”
“The creation of that market has led to CEOs being paid over $600,000, children and their vulnerabilities being traded for cryptocurrency and gold,” Ms Camm adds. “We have seen management fees and loans in the millions of dollars be distributed to shareholders who have profited from our state’s most vulnerable children, [and] have profited from a broken child safety system.”
Detailed Financial Insights
The review identifies CEO pay ranging from $400,000 to $679,000, with one instance where the salary accounted for 21 percent of a provider’s revenue. One provider allocated $242,000 to gold, $100,000 to cryptocurrency, maintained two Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and distributed $140,000 in dividends to owners.
Providers report profits that serve as unreliable indicators of financial health, complicating assessments of service delivery.
Funding Distribution and Provider Types
In the 2024/25 financial year, 163 providers shared an average of $7.2 million each in funding for residential care services. The top 15 providers captured half of the total funding.
Among the 163 providers, 125 operate without licenses, representing 77 percent of the sector. This unlicensed group has grown over the past four years. Licensed services meet Human Services Quality Framework standards, while unlicensed ones, often for urgent or specialized placements, face departmental oversight without certification.
Government Transition Efforts
The government shifts children from high-cost, for-profit individual placements to longer-term contracts. Ms Camm notes risks in ending contracts: “Each individual contract represents a child in care.”
“We have had to work very closely with those that are licensed… to grow the placement numbers there, alongside growing our fostering kinship care placements so that we can transition these children into safe, stable placements where their best interests are put first. Not the profiting interests of shareholders,” she explains.
Authorities have terminated one provider’s contract and will refer any corrupt or criminal activity for investigation. The commissioner plans to issue the final report and recommendations on May 22.
