Two staff members in the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice have been suspended following a review into why two foster children were placed with convicted triple murderer Regina Arthurell. The review, made public on Wednesday, found “significant failures” by the department led to foster children aged 12 and 14 living alongside Arthurell until her removal from the home last month.
The review was initiated in March after NSW Minister for Families and Communities Kate Washington apologised on 2GB radio, confirming the removal only came after the radio station revealed the situation two days earlier. Washington said two staff members had been stood down pending misconduct investigations into allegations they had not followed departmental procedures.
The review said the department was warned about Arthurell’s presence in the home on 23 December via a report from a member of the public through the Child Protection Helpline. However, that report was closed on the basis of “unverified” information about Arthurell’s “age, mobility and supervision assumptions”, including that she purportedly used a wheelchair and required a full-time carer.
A second failure occurred on 5 March, four days before the initial radio report aired, when a second child moved into the home. Washington said approval for the move went ahead without a “simple check” of the department’s system, which would have revealed the previous concerns.
Arthurell was convicted of two counts of manslaughter and one count of murder over three killings, including the 1995 murder of her former partner. She was released in November 2020 and placed on an extended supervision order, which expired in December 2024. The review concluded there were “failures in the triage of the report received and assessment of risk”, adding that “the children were not placed at the centre of the decision-making processes”.
