From 2003-04 to 2004-05, the number of child-protection notifications increased in all Australian jurisdictions. Over the last 6 years, the number of child protection notifications more than doubled, from 107,134 in 1999-00 to 252,831 in 2004-05. Some of this increase reflects changes in child-protection policies and practices in the jurisdictions; it could also reflect increased public awareness of child abuse. The number of substantiations in most jurisdictions also increased over the last 6 years. Rates of children ages 0-16 who were the subject of a child protection substantiation in 2004-05 ranged from 2.3 per 1,000 in Western Australia to 14.1 per 1,000 in Queensland. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were over-represented in the child protection system. There were more children on care and protection orders in 2004-05 than 2003-04 in every jurisdiction that provided data. Nationally, the number of children in out-of-home care increased each year from 1996 to 2005, the period for which national data have been collected. Only 4 percent of children in out-of-home care on June 30, 2005 were in residential care; 54 percent were in foster care, and 40 percent were in relative or kinship care. On June 30, 2005, there were 23,695 children in out-of-home care, compared with 21,795 children in out-of-home care on June 30, 2004 (a 9-percent increase). The rate of Indigenous children in out-of-home care was over six times the rate of other children. 5 figures, 49 tables, 25 references, and appended detailed tables, technical notes, legislation, and mandatory reporting requirements