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Children and young people aged 0-17 years who were the subject of a report, NSW, 2001/2002 to 2005/2006 (rate per 1,000)

		2001/2002	2002/2003	2003/2004	2004/2005	2005/2006
Overall	Overall	52.8	56.5	59.1	64.1	69.1
Sex	Male	50.8	54.5	55.3	60.2	64.6
	Female	54.9	58.0	59.6	64.2	69.1
Age	<1 years	89.0	85.3	89.6	100.1	112.1
	1-4 years	58.7	61.4	62.4	68.2	74.4
	5-9 years	55.0	58.9	60.4	65.2	69.9
	10-14 years	50.1	55.2	56.7	63.0	67.5
	15-17 years	30.2	31.9	35.4	37.6	41.2
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status	Yes	126.9	135.8	0.0	195.1	n.a.
	No & unknown	50.1	53.6	0.0	59.4	n.a.

Notes: Information on Indigenous children and young persons was not available for 2003/2004.  Increases in the number of reports may be due to changes in legislation, policies and practices. Legislation introduced in 2000/2001 expanded the categories of risk of harm and extended the number of professionals and agencies mandated to report. The increases could also indicate a better awareness of child protection concerns in the wider community and greater willingness to report problems to the Department of Community Services. Rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children could not be calculated in 2005-06 because population data were not available. The number of reports are based on financial year; the population data is based on calendar year.

Sources: Client Information System Annual Statistical extract 2001/2002 and 2002/2003 Client Information System (CIS) and Key Information and Directory System (KIDS) Annual Statistical Extract, 2003/2004 and Key Information and Directory System (KIDS) 2004/2005, 2005/2006. Produced by Information Services, NSW Department of Community Services; Population data sourced from Australian Bureau of Statistics - Population by Age and Sex, Australian States and Territories, June 2006; Catalogue number: 3201.0

Comment

The rate of children and young people who were subject of a report has increased over the period 2001/2002 to 2005/2006. The rate is higher for females than for males (in 2005/2006: 69 per 1,000 compared with 65). This is consistent across the years.

The rate varies according to age group. In 2005/2006, the highest rate was for children aged less than one year (112 per 1,000 children). The lowest rate was for the 15-17 years age group (41 per 1,000 children).

In 2004/2005 the rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people was more than three times higher than the rate for non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people (194.9 per 1,000 and 60.1 per 1,000 respectively). This is relatively consistent across the years.