Major maths blunder behind missing children claim

Blair Wise July 12, 2024
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The "trafficked" children claim is partly the result of significant mathematical errors. Image by Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS

WHAT WAS CLAIMED

More than 2.7 million Australian children are taken from their parents each year by the government.

OUR VERDICT

False. Around 45,000 were in out-of-home care according to the latest figures.

AAP FACTCHECK - The Australian government is supposedly removing 2.7 million children from their parents each year, according to a social media post.

This is false. The post makes a significant calculation error, erroneously adding millions to the number of children in out-of-home care.

The latest statistics, as of June 2022, show there were 45,400 children in out-of-home care.

The post claims that: "2,753,000 out of 5,100,000 children are taken from natural biological parents over 50% while native [sic] Australians make up 0.08% of children taken away from biological parents!"

It includes a mishmash of screenshots from multiple government documents and news reports, featuring statistics around child protection services.

One of the screenshots highlights a figure from the Child Protection Australia 2019-20 Summary report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

This reads: "Each year, around 3% of all children aged 0–17 are assisted by Australia's child protection systems".