Honourable Rod Caddies drew on 15 years of experience in residential care to highlight the failures in Australia’s child protection system. Sharing the story of an Indigenous aunt forced to give up her two nieces after a $50 rent increase, he argued that simple preventative support could have kept the children in family care and saved taxpayers thousands in foster costs. Rod Caddies urged governments to focus on early intervention, prevention programs, and consultation with frontline workers to ensure child protection decisions truly reflect the best interests of children.