So much of Tiahleigh Palmer’s life was filled with pain.

In spite of this, the 12-year-old who loved dancing, animals and horse riding was described as ‘a delightful girl’ and ‘a child people immediately fell in love with’.

She remained gentle in the face of a world that all too often was not gentle with her until, in a moment of unspeakable evil, her foster father Rick Thorburn murdered her in October 2015, dumping her body near a Gold Coast river, where her body was found six days later by fishermen.

Thorburn, who a 2021 inquest found showed no remorse, was found dead in his cell at Woodford Correctional Centre, in regional Queensland, last month.

His death nearly a decade on from Tiahleigh’s murder has brought about renewed public interest into the horrific case which fuelled sweeping changes to the state’s child protection system.

But how much has really changed? A recent report shows 70 children known to child protection in Queensland died between 2023 and 2024. The question is once again being asked: have the reforms since Tiahleigh’s murder been enough?

Betrayed by the people meant to protect her

By the time Tiahleigh Palmer came to live under the Thorburns’ roof, she had been moved between households 15 different times.

Tiahleigh Palmer was failed again and again throughout her short life

Tiahleigh Palmer was failed again and again throughout her short life

Tiahleigh was only 12 years old when she was murdered by her foster father

Tiahleigh was only 12 years old when she was murdered by her foster father

It was January 2015, and having experienced abandonment after abandonment, sometimes spending as little as 24 hours in one placement before being moved on, Tiahleigh seemed on the outside to have hit the jackpot with the Thorburns.

Their rural property with sweeping lawns and a swimming pool was also home to a family daycare centre, and after starting school at the local Marsden High, Tiahleigh had no trouble making friends and was ‘well-liked’.

But inside the idyllic-looking property south of Brisbane, things were anything but.

Eighteen-year-old Trent Thorburn, the Thorburns’ biological son, had been preying upon the 12-year-old.

After hearing Tiahleigh complain of stomach pains, Trent sent a Facebook message to a family member confessing his worry that she had become pregnant.

He wrote:

‘i just want the kid gone and out of my life but i know she is also a sauce [sic] of income for mum and dad as well and i cant risk us loosing [sic] money because she is gone. also if tia did say something to children services and she is pregnant then it all gets investigated and i could go to jail because a court isn’t going to believe me over her.’

After the family member relayed this message to Trent’s mother, Julene Thorburn, a series of unfathomable events was set in motion.

Rick Thorburn (pictured) was convicted of murdering his foster daughter Tiahleigh in 2015. He took his own life in his prison cell last month

Rick Thorburn (pictured) was convicted of murdering his foster daughter Tiahleigh in 2015. He took his own life in his prison cell last month

Julene Thorburn, the foster mother of murdered schoolgirl Tiahleigh Palmer, is pictured

Julene Thorburn, the foster mother of murdered schoolgirl Tiahleigh Palmer, is pictured

That evening, after leaving Rick Thorburn at home alone with Tiahleigh, the rest of the Thorburn family returned at about 9.30pm to find Rick on the couch, insisting on a ‘family meeting’.

He told them it was ‘all taken care of’ and ‘Tiahleigh is no longer with us’.

While her absence was noted by a caseworker visiting Tiahleigh’s high school the following morning, it would be six days before police would officially declare her missing.

A few hours later, her mostly naked body was discovered face down and badly decomposed on the banks of the Pimpama River in the Northern Gold Coast.

While Tiahleigh’s precise cause of death was never revealed, Rick Thorburn was later convicted of her murder and jailed in May 2018.

In 2020, he was also convicted of more than a dozen child sex offences, including the rape of a young girl at the daycare centre his wife Julene operated.

In July 2017, Joshua Thorburn, the couple’s other biological son, was sentenced to three months in jail for lying to police and hiding information about Tiahleigh’s death, while Trent Thorburn was sentenced to four years in jail for incest, perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice in September 2017. He was released on 19 January 2018 after spending just 16 months in custody.

In November 2017, Julene Thorburn was sentenced to 18 months in jail for perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Tiahleigh's foster brother Trent Thorburn confessed he'd had sex with the schoolgirl and feared her stomach pains were a sign she was pregnant

Tiahleigh’s foster brother Trent Thorburn confessed he’d had sex with the schoolgirl and feared her stomach pains were a sign she was pregnant

Trent Thorburn was sentenced to four years' jail in 2017

Trent Thorburn was sentenced to four years’ jail in 2017

Changes to the Queensland child protection protocols

In the wake of Tiahleigh’s murder, Queensland’s child protection laws, as well as protocols within the foster care system, were under scrutiny. 

Failures by the system to protect the most vulnerable were highlighted, particularly the delays in sharing information between agencies and authorities’ assumption that Tiahleigh had simply ‘run away’ for several days before her body was discovered.

One of the most immediate failures highlighted by Tiahleigh’s disappearance was the sluggish response and poor communication when she went missing.

New procedures were put in place to treat any report of a missing child in care with the highest priority. The Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC)’s When a Child is Missing – Remembering Tiahleigh review made 29 recommendations to improve whole-of-government responses for children missing from out-of-home care

Reforms brought about by the case updated Queensland law to tighten screening of carers, mandate better data-sharing, and formalise oversight mechanisms.

These legislative measures were designed to ensure that people entrusted with children in care are thoroughly vetted and that critical safety information flows quickly to prevent potential abusers from ‘falling through the cracks’.

A decade on: We are still failing vulnerable children 

Yet in the 10 years since Tiahleigh Palmer’s murder, a further 511 children known to the child protection system have died. Of that number, 39 were the result of fatal assault or neglect.

It should be pointed out that because a child was ‘known to child protection’ in the lead-up to their death, it does not mean they were in state care.

Of the 511 children, 64 were on a child protection order (in foster, kinship or residential care), which includes 43 who died from natural causes (diseases and morbid conditions), 20 from preventable causes (transport incidents, drownings, suicide, non-intentional injury, and fatal assault and neglect), and one death is unexplained (SIDS and undetermined causes).

The Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) manages Queensland’s Child Death Register, which records details about the deaths of all children in the state since 2004/2005.

The QFCC also hosts the Child Death Review Board, which considers the deaths of children known to the child protection system in the 12 months before they died, and it makes recommendations to government to strengthen system responses.

‘The death of any child is a tragedy, and we owe it to every one of them to learn all we can from their lives and take action to better protect children,’ says QFCC Principal Commissioner Luke Twyford.

‘The board looks at the systems that interact with children and families – including child safety, health, housing, education and family support – and develops clear stories about their lives that highlight the missed opportunities for intervention and support needed to prevent harm.’

Each year, the Child Death Review Board makes recommendations to the government based on the findings of its annual report, and the Queensland Government then uses these to inform long-term goals and targets to improve the safety of children known to child protection.

October this year will mark a decade since Tiahleigh’s murder. While the man responsible for her death was convicted and brought to justice, the scaffolding of support that was supposed to have kept her safe was flimsy to the core.

The question is – does it remain so today?

From the abuse she suffered at the hands of her foster brother, to the lies upheld by others in the family and the breakdowns in communication that prolonged her being reported missing, Tiahleigh’s murder was a perfect storm of betrayals.

To make any small meaning of this horror, there needs to be a tangible change in the numbers. One child’s death from violence or neglect is unacceptable. Thirty-nine deaths of children known to the system meant to protect them is an indictment.

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