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In most Australian states, legislation makes provision for professionals to report their concerns about the future welfare of an unborn child to appropriate authorities. The legislation establishes guidance for the implementation of family supports to minimize future child protection involvement. Given the legislation and the potential benefits, empirical research linking substance misuse during pregnancy and child protection involvement is relatively limited. We review 21 original studies linking substance misuse during pregnancy with child protection outcomes and the potential generalizability of results to the Australian context. The majority of studies reviewed were conducted in the USA and were mostly retrospective. Other differences between studies include sample sizes, comparison groups, study setting, participants’ ethnicity and pattern of drug use. In the postnatal literature, it is well established that child abuse is associated with a complex array of factors including partner, as well as broader family factors and yet, the studies reviewed focus upon maternal substance abuse without including the wider context. Given the available evidence‐based literature, it is difficult to come to definitive conclusions that can assist clinicians involved in frontline decision‐making for early intervention. Well‐designed research, accessible by antenatal health‐care professionals, is needed to adopt an evidence‐based approach to risk assessment in the prenatal context.

Limitations of instruments adopting consensus and actuarial approaches are well documented when assessing risk of abusive behaviour. Whilst the consensus approach is flexible and useful for structuring information, it relies upon the practitioner's ability to combine information and apply knowledge of empirical research. The actuarial approach involves a graduated probability measure in the form of a score that determines the likelihood of a particular event occurring; however, this approach focuses upon static risk factors and tends to be inflexible given its necessary reliance on nomothetic factors. A third approach, structured professional judgement comprises evidence‐based risk factors and decision‐making guidelines to inform professional judgement and standardize assessments. Instruments focus upon dynamic risk factors that assist practitioners monitor risk levels and manage risk. This approach is useful for social work practice that commonly requires ongoing risk assessments and risk management. Structured professional judgement has not been meaningfully explored in Australian child protection practice despite it being used successfully for approximately two decades for assessing a range of offending and violent behaviour. Given the complexity of child protection cases, further research on approaches to risk assessment that combine evidence‐based research, structured assessment and clinical judgement, is warranted.

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The risk of being killed is greatest within the first 24 hours of birth. Despite this, less is known about neonaticide compared with other homicides, particularly those occurring in the Australian context. A highly publicised case of neonaticide attracting an 18‐year sentence recently provoked debate about the introduction of prevention strategies, such as ‘Safe Havens’ and baby hatches in Australia. This paper reviews the limited international literature on risk factors associated with neonaticide and provides an insight into recent developments on the introduction of Safe Haven laws in the US. Little is known about the risk factors associated with neonaticide in Australia. Given recent interest in developing policies to prevent or reduce neonaticide in Australia, there is a pressing need for more research in this area. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Messages Early identification improves positive outcomes for pregnant women and babies. Education initiatives to target non‐antenatal professionals as well as other non‐medical professionals who may come into contact with potentially high‐risk women. Training must include recognising signs of a neglected and hidden pregnancy as well as early signs of pregnancy. Upon suspicion of pregnancy, referral to an appropriate professional should be made. Confidentiality is of paramount importance.

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This article reports on a comparison of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) and non-ATSI children involved in the child protection system sampled from the Victorian Children's Court. Groups were compared in terms of demographic profile, the types and grounds for protection applications and the types of abuse proven in court.Findings: Our results highlight similarities between ATSI and non-ATSI children in the child protection system, a finding that indicates similar children, regardless of background, are being found to be at increased risk of abuse. The over-representation of ATSI children in the sample indicates a continued social and economic disadvantage associated with this group, requiring ongoing public health preventive measures. Our study also highlighted the longer term involvement of ATSI children with child protection services before reaching court. This may be explained by differences in case management policies affecting ATSI children in the child protection system as well as the ongoing legacy of the Stolen Generation.