Queensland Child Safety and Domestic and Family Violence Minister Amanda Camm is expected to step down from cabinet, triggering the first ministerial reshuffle of Premier David Crisafulli’s government since the LNP won office in 2024.
The ABC reported on Friday morning that Ms Camm, the Member for Whitsunday, would leave her ministerial roles after months of scrutiny over the state’s child protection system and domestic and family violence portfolio.
The Courier-Mail reported that health concerns were behind the decision. Ms Camm had only recently returned to work after taking medical leave.
Premier David Crisafulli is expected to announce changes to his ministry following her departure.
Ms Camm has been responsible for child safety and the prevention of domestic, family and sexual violence since the LNP took government in October 2024.
Her departure comes after a difficult period for the portfolios she oversees.
In September, the Queensland Family and Child Commission revealed that 91 children known to child protection services had died during the 2025–26 financial year, an increase of 59.6 per cent from the previous year and the highest number recorded in five years.
The figures prompted renewed calls from the Labor opposition for the government to take responsibility for problems in the child safety system.
The government has stressed that children can become known to child protection services for many reasons and that the figures do not mean the department was responsible for the deaths.
Ms Camm had also been under pressure over children in residential care being accommodated in child safety offices while suitable placements were unavailable.
Reports earlier this year revealed some children had slept on office floors or air mattresses, intensifying scrutiny of residential care capacity and the availability of foster and kinship carers.
A major Commission of Inquiry into Queensland’s child safety system delivered 52 recommendations in June, after finding the system had relied too heavily on residential care and suffered from fragmented responsibilities and inconsistent practice.
The government subsequently accepted 32 recommendations and accepted another 16 in principle.
Ms Camm announced that children under five would be removed from residential care and said Queensland needed about 1,000 additional foster carers to provide more family-based placements.
In July, the government committed $200 million towards reforms arising from the inquiry.
At the time, Ms Camm said she would hold senior officials accountable for improving the system.
“I will hold my Director General and the Department to account, and Queenslanders will hold me to account,” she said.
Earlier this month, Ms Camm said the number of children in residential care had fallen slightly for the first time after reaching record levels.
Figures released on October 13 showed 2,804 children remained in residential care, 15 fewer than in the previous reporting period.
Ms Camm said the system had “stabilised”, while acknowledging the movement was modest.
Her domestic violence portfolio had also attracted criticism.
The 2026–27 Queensland budget allocated $340.7 million towards domestic and family violence prevention, but opposition parties and advocacy groups criticised an overall reduction in funding compared with the previous year.
ABC reporting in July found prevention funding had fallen by almost $40 million, prompting concerns among services already experiencing growing demand.
Ms Camm also faced sustained questioning over the government’s progress in implementing 277 recommendations made by the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce in reports delivered in 2021 and 2022.
She resisted calls to provide a public breakdown showing how many recommendations had been completed, were under way or remained outstanding.
The issue gained further attention during a period in which four women were killed in alleged violent incidents in Queensland in less than two months.
Ms Camm described those deaths as “abhorrent” and said ending domestic violence required a whole-of-community response.
There had also been industrial tension within the child safety system.
Thousands of child safety and youth justice workers walked off the job last month as enterprise bargaining negotiations stalled, adding pressure to a department already dealing with staff shortages and high caseloads.
Ms Camm’s time in cabinet was also subjected to scrutiny earlier this year over her personal relationship with fellow minister Tim Mander.
The pair acknowledged they had been in a relationship between June 2023 and May 2024, before being appointed to cabinet, and said they resumed their relationship in June 2025.
Both maintained they had complied with integrity requirements and declared the relationship after it resumed.
Mr Crisafulli stood by both ministers in May and ruled out a reshuffle at the time, saying there was no information before him suggesting either had breached ministerial rules.
Ms Camm entered state parliament at the 2020 election, winning Whitsunday after defeating former LNP MP turned independent Jason Costigan.
She was immediately appointed to the opposition frontbench and held responsibility for child protection and domestic and family violence before becoming a minister four years later.
Her departure will mark the first significant change to Mr Crisafulli’s cabinet since the LNP returned to government.
It will also leave the government needing to appoint a new minister to take responsibility for a child safety system undergoing major reform and a domestic violence sector facing continuing pressure over funding, service demand and the implementation of recommendations from previous inquiries.
Mr Crisafulli is expected to provide further details on Ms Camm’s departure and the resulting cabinet changes later on Friday.
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