Magistrate slams child protection department after 14yo girl faces court without guardian

In short:

A West Australian magistrate says it is appalling a 14-year-old girl in government care faced court without a guardian, after spending a night in the local police lock-up.

Child Protection staff failed to turn up to the girl's court appearance, leaving her without a responsible adult.

What's next?

The magistrate says she will lodge a formal complaint to the department, and has urged the girl's lawyers to do the same.

Western Australia's under-fire child protection department is facing further scrutiny after a 14-year-old girl in its care was left overnight in a regional police lock-up.

The teenager was charged by Geraldton Police on Wednesday over an alleged aggravated robbery, and held in custody until her first court appearance at 10am on Thursday.

Police told the ABC the girl was in custody from 5pm Wednesday until 10:45am on Thursday.

Magistrate Melita Medcalf told the Childrens Court at Geraldton no one from the Department of Communities, which oversees child protection across WA, was present for the hearing, leaving the girl without a responsible adult.

"It's appalling," she said.

"She's in the care of the state, they need to do better."

The court heard the girl was living in Geraldton, while her case manager was based in Perth, 420 kilometres away.

"It's 10 in the morning," Magistrate Medcalf said, pointing out the department had hours to co-ordinate an adult to attend.

"I'm not happy at the fact that DCP [Department of Child Protection] is not here."

Magistrate to lodge complaint

Magistrate Medcalf addressed the girl directly, saying she was angry at the situation, not her.

"It's the reality that the department needs to show up and present as a responsible adult for you," she said.

She told the court she would make a complaint to the president of the Children's Court about the department and encouraged the girl's defence lawyer to do the same.

The Department of Communities has been contacted for comment.

It comes following backlash towards the department after a series of reports in the Australian newspaper claiming more than a dozen children were living unsupervised in squalor in South Hedland.

Aboriginal elders are calling for a royal commission into WA's child protection agency, and for the child protection minister to resign.

Three senior elders the ABC spoke to accused the government of turning a blind eye and "neglecting" children in the Pilbara.

The government has disputed that reporting but admits an investigation into what had happened took too long.