‘Significant failures’ led two NSW foster children to be placed with serial killer, review finds
TL;DR
A review revealed significant failures by the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice, leading to two foster children being placed with a convicted triple killer. Two staff members have been suspended pending misconduct investigations.
Key points
- Two foster children lived with a convicted triple killer in NSW
- A review found significant failures by the Department of Communities and Justice
- Two staff members have been suspended pending investigations
- The situation was revealed by a media report before official action was taken
- Minister Kate Washington has faced calls for her resignation
Mentioned in this story
Two staff members in the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice have been suspended following a review into why two foster children went to live with a convicted triple killer.
The review, which was made public on Wednesday, found “significant failures” by the department led to foster children aged 12 and 14 living alongside convicted murderer Regina Arthurell until her removal from the home last month.
It was initiated in March after the NSW minister for families and communities, Kate Washington, apologised on 2GB radio, confirming the removal only came after the radio station revealed the situation two days previously. The investigation was led by the department’s secretary, Michael Tidball.
On Wednesday, Washington, who has weathered calls for her resignation since the revelations, said two staff members had been stood down pending misconduct investigations into allegations they had not followed departmental procedures.
She said their future was a “decision to be made by the department”.
“There are difficult decisions made daily by our case workers, but we do expect them to follow department policies and procedures, and that’s what didn’t happen on these occasions that led to this awful situation,” she told 2GB radio.
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The review said the department was warned about Arthurell’s presence in the home on 23 December via a report from a member of the public via the department’s Child Protection Helpline.
But that report was closed on the basis of “unverified” information about Arthurell’s “age, mobility and supervision assumptions”. Washington said this included that she purportedly used a wheelchair and required a full-time carer.
“It just wasn’t investigated, and that was contrary to policies and procedures in the department,” said Washington. “We had capacity in the system at the time for an investigation to be undertaken. We had the resources. This was a wrong decision made against department policies and procedures.”
Kate Washington, the NSW minister for families and communities. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP
The review identified a second failure on 5 March, four days before the initial radio report aired, when a second child moved into the home.
Washington said approval for the move had gone ahead without a “simple check” of the department’s system.
“We would have been able to see, from the previous report made in December, that there were concerns raised previously around Arthurell being in that household.”
Arthurell was convicted of two counts of manslaughter and one count of murder over three killings. They include manslaughter convictions for the stabbing to death of her stepfather in 1974, and the killing of a 19-year-old in a robbery in the Northern Territory in 1981.
While on parole for manslaughter in 1995, Arthurell bludgeoned to death her former partner Venet Raylee Mulhall at her Coonabarabran home in the NSW central west, and was sentenced to 24 years in prison for murder. She was released in November 2020 and placed on an extended supervision order (ESO).
At a hearing in 2021, a supreme court justice said Arthurell was making sincere efforts at rehabilitation but had a “proclivity to violently terminate the lives of fellow human beings”. Her ESO was not extended by the NSW attorney general after it expired in December 2024.
Last month, a 2GB caller who identified herself as the daughter of the woman Arthurell had been living with, said she had alerted NSW police and Corrective Services after her attempt to warn the Department of Communities and Justice in December was unsuccessful.
NSW police visited the home in February on a call-out at a time when Arthurell was not present.
The review said there had been “failures in the triage of the report received and assessment of risk”.
“Information was accepted at face value without adequate investigation,” it said.
“The children were not placed at the centre of the decision-making processes, and this is unacceptable.”
Q&A
What led to the suspension of staff in the NSW foster care system?
The suspension followed a review that found significant failures in the placement of two foster children with a convicted triple killer.
Who is Regina Arthurell and why was she in a foster home?
Regina Arthurell is a convicted triple killer who was living with two foster children until her removal last month due to departmental failures.
What actions did NSW Minister Kate Washington take regarding the foster care incident?
Kate Washington apologized publicly and confirmed the removal of the children only after media revelations about their living situation with a convicted murderer.
What are the consequences for the staff members involved in the foster care placement?
The staff members are under investigation for misconduct related to not following departmental procedures, with their future decisions pending by the department.
