Kids left in the lurch by collapse of millionaire’s residential care business
One of Queensland’s biggest residential care businesses has collapsed, the same month a child alleged she had been raped by a carer at one of their residences.
Lighthouse Child and Family Services launched in 2022 and quickly became one of the biggest companies of its kind.
The company went into liquidation this week and has no more children in its care.
New Child Safety Minister Amanda Stoker confirmed to this masthead that the department had to step in and act following the liquidation.
“The department has moved swiftly in managing appropriate arrangements and four young people have now been transitioned from this provider to other placements,” the minister said.
Lighthouse founder Levi Te Namu has been contacted for comment.
Te Namu started Lighthouse while working for the not-for-profit Uniting Care with his now business partner Joshua Hillman.
An email seen by this masthead earlier this month showed the police investigation into the rape allegation ended when the girl involved did not want to provide a formal statement and withdrew the complaint, and Te Namu said the man involved no longer worked at Lighthouse.
Meanwhile, workers at other agencies told this masthead that large numbers of children in state care were being moved out of Lighthouse residential homes.
On October 5, Te Namu said the organisation was caring for 12 children, after operating 41 houses at its peak. He said case referrals to Lighthouse had slowed before the rape allegation.
In Queensland, providers can operate without a licence, but must comply with minimum standards. Te Namu said the company had been fighting to get a residential care licence since April, and a decision from the department was delayed from July to October.
Te Namu said earlier this month the rape allegation was disclosed on August 21, before it was reported in the media on August 26.
“On 26 August, the department confirmed that the application remained under the licensing delegate’s consideration. It refused the application on 1 September, 2026,” Te Namu said.
A department spokesperson said Lighthouse was considered unsuitable for a licence under the Child Protection Act. The department decision to refuse Lighthouse’s application for a care service license is currently subject to review by QCAT.
Child safety has become a hot-button political issue after the number of children in Queensland residential care soared from 650 at the end of 2015 to more than 2800 by March this year.
Former minister Amanda Camm resigned from the frontbench on October 23, citing health concerns, but it followed a spate of highly publicised incidents including her relationship with fellow cabinet member Tim Mander and disturbing reports of the treatment of children in state care.
At a press conference announcing her resignation, Camm said she would not concede mistakes had been made in her two years in charge of a sensitive and scrutinised portfolio.
“I have delivered the biggest reform to these portfolios in the last two years than any minister before me in 20 years,” she said.
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