Child protection workers stood down after alleged murder of Australian child

Warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: this article contains references to someone who has died.

Three child protection workers in the Northern Territory (NT) have been stood down over their handling of the welfare of a five-year-old Australian girl who was allegedly murdered.

The body of the girl, known as Kumanjayi Little Baby for cultural reasons, was found on 30 April, five days after she went missing from an Aboriginal town camp near Alice Springs.

On Wednesday, the NT minister for child protection, Robyn Cahill, said the trio had been removed from their posts after she ordered an investigation into the girl's circumstances leading up to her disappearance and death.

Police have arrested and charged Jefferson Lewis, 47, with murder. The case has sparked riots in Alice Springs.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Cahill said she had asked child protection authorities in the NT to "identify if there were any areas of concern" in relation to Kumanjayi Little Baby shortly after she was first reported missing.

Cahill said she was initially told it was "not a situation of concern", according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), but she insisted on a further investigation.

"I can't go into the detail of what was in that brief but suffice it to say that we had to investigate how those processes had been executed," she said.

As a result of her inquiries, the three workers were stood down from their roles.

"That wasn't my decision, that was a decision of the department," Cahill said.

The suspensions come after news outlet The Australian revealed that six reports had been made about the girl's welfare in the weeks leading up to her murder, with concerns raised by domestic violence shelter workers and a relative.

Kumanjayi Little Baby was last seen when she was put to bed just before midnight on Anzac Day at the Old Timers Camp - a site set aside by the government for Aboriginal people to stay in when in Alice Springs.

She was reported missing several hours later, prompting a large-scale search for the youngster, who was non-verbal.

On Thursday, police found her body several kilometres from the camp. Hours later, Lewis - who had been attacked by community members - was arrested and taken to a hospital in Alice Springs for treatment.

A riot erupted outside the hospital, with police later arresting five people over the violence.

Lewis was later transferred to Darwin for his safety and charged with her murder, police said.

Robin Granites, a family member and elder, called for calm, saying the focus should be on "sorry business", a period of collective mourning within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Across Australia, vigils will be held for Kumanjayi Little Baby on Thursday evening, with the public invited to the events in Alice Springs and other major capital cities.