Girl dies after suspected overdose in Qld state care

In short:

A teenage girl has died after a suspected drug overdose while in the care of the Queensland government.

The girl's death comes roughly a year after a 15-year-old Indigenous boy died by suicide in an Ipswich residential care home.

What's next?

The acting minister for child safety says an investigation will be undertaken.

A 15-year-old girl has died of a suspected drug overdose in a residential care home in Brisbane.

The teenager was in the care of the Queensland government.

The girl's death comes roughly a year after the ABC revealed that a 15-year-old Indigenous boy died by suicide in an Ipswich residential care home.

A spokesperson for Acting Minister for Child Safety Ann Leahy said they were "heartbroken to hear about the death of a child in residential care".

"The loss of any child is an absolute tragedy," the spokesperson said.

"My thoughts are with all those who are grieving at this incredibly difficult time and I have asked the Department to conduct a full investigation into the circumstances."

Advocates call for action 

Sisters Inside chief executive Debbie Kilroy said the news of the girl's death was "devastating" and there must be transparency and accountability.

"We need to stop treating the crises of children in care as isolated individual tragedies," she said.

"It should force us to ask much bigger questions about what we mean when we say our state is caring for our children," she said.

Ms Kilroy said children in residential care homes were the most vulnerable in the community.

"When the state takes responsibility for a child, that cannot simply mean providing a bed, supervision and compliance-based interventions," she said.

"It must mean creating environments where children are genuinely safe, heard, supported and connected."

A youth worker, who is not being named due to concerns over their employment, called for the death to be reviewed.

"The minimum job [of residential care] is to keep children physically safe," the worker said.

"All decisions leading up to that death need to be scrutinised, including why this child was in care to begin with."

A spokesperson for the Department of Child Safety said legislation prevents them from commenting on individual cases, "however, the death of any child or young person in care is a tragedy". 

"When a child dies while in care, the department undertakes a comprehensive review process conducted by a specialist internal systems and practice review team," the spokesperson said.

"The findings are considered by the independent Queensland Child Death Review Board and provided to the Queensland Coroner in accordance with legislative requirements."