A short guide / Children behind the numbers
What does “1%”
really mean?
Watch a guided explanation, then explore the figures yourself. About 90 seconds, or longer with narration. Three statistics. Different meanings. Children at the centre.
All South Australian children aged 0–17
01 / 06Imagine the group
1,000children
An illustrative group, not individual case records
One figure = one child in this illustrative group of 1,000.
Highlights enlarged for counting · size ≠ percentageStart with 1,000 children.
Imagine 1,000 South Australian children aged 0–17. Each little figure represents one child in this illustrative group.
2024–25 reporting period · official sourcesPause to drag a little figure. With the picture focused, press Enter to select and arrow keys to move. The numbers stay the same.
Check the meaning
What does the 1.2% guardianship figure describe?
These figures describe recorded findings and legal responsibility. They do not measure all abuse. The in-care figure uses a different population and a lower substantiation threshold, so it is not a direct comparison of safety.
Read the full explanation
Start with 1,000 children
Imagine 1,000 South Australian children aged 0–17. Each little figure represents one child in this illustrative group.
About 12 are under state guardianship
At 30 June 2025, 4,667 SA children were under state guardianship—about 1.2%. This is a snapshot, not the number newly entering guardianship each year.
Recorded harm measures something different
During 2024–25, 2,617 SA children had a substantiated finding of abuse, neglect or risk of harm—about 7 in 1,000, or 0.69%. This group includes children in care.
Now change the group
The figures now represent children who spent time in care. Of 5,549 children, 164 had a substantiated abuse or neglect finding—about 30 in every 1,000, or 3.0%. This includes out-of-home care and other supported placements during 2024–25.
Read the comparison carefully
The responsible person could be anyone the child encountered, not necessarily a carer. Different populations and a lower substantiation threshold in care mean these percentages are not a direct comparison of safety.
Recorded findings do not capture all harm
Some abuse is undisclosed or unreported. These figures help us understand official findings, but cannot tell us how much abuse occurs overall. Ask what was counted, who was counted, and when.
View the sources and counting notes
- Department for Child Protection: statistical data ↗
At 30 June 2025: 516 children on guardianship-to-12-months orders and 4,151 on guardianship-to-18-years orders, totalling 4,667.
- Report on Government Services 2026: child protection ↗
Table 16A.1: substantiations among all children. Table 16A.16: substantiated abuse or neglect in care. Table 16A.44: population denominators. The 2025 reporting denominator of 378,779 children uses the 31 March 2025 population estimate; the guardianship percentage is an approximate share.
- AIHW: what child protection data can tell us ↗
These administrative records include reported cases and substantiated harm or risk. They do not measure the prevalence of all child maltreatment.
Illustrations round the rates to 12, 7 and 30 figures per 1,000. They represent proportions, not identified children. All-children and in-care populations overlap. Changing the display does not change the underlying findings.