Unresolved issues: recordkeeping recommendations arising from Australian commissions of inquiry into the welfare of children in out-of-home care, 1997-2012

Since the late 1990s, a significant number of commissions of inquiry have been conducted by the Commonwealth Government of Australia, individual states and territories in Australia, and internationally, into the treatment of children in out-of-home care. This paper traces the most significant of these inquiries and the recommendations arising regarding records, with the purpose of highlighting some of the recurring themes identified by each inquiry. An overview is also given of some of the positive changes to aspects of recordkeeping as a direct consequence of the landmark inquiries. Lastly, this overview hopes to raise some questions surrounding the role of the profession in promoting awareness of recordkeeping issues that have emerged through these inquiries.