Reports of newborn removals at public birthing hospitals have triggered a state review. 

South Australia's Child Protection Minister, Katrine Hildyard, has announced an inquiry into the practice of removing newborn babies from their mothers at public birthing hospitals. 

This decision comes in response to troubling whistleblower claims that child protection workers have entered delivery rooms to issue removal notices immediately after birth, sometimes even before the mother has delivered the afterbirth.

The Department for Child Protection, led by chief executive Jackie Bray, is to conduct the review. 

Hildyard stressed the urgency of examining the cases over the last few years to “make sure that we are undertaking these terribly heartbreaking removals in the best possible way”. 

Whistleblowers have raised serious concerns about the methods used by the department, suggesting that some hospital staff were asked to find pretexts for taking babies from their mothers to facilitate the serving of removal notices. 

These actions have been branded as “inhumane” by public servants speaking out about the practice.

The inquiry is set to take several weeks, with outcomes aimed at refining the process and ensuring that child removals, when absolutely necessary, are conducted with compassion and dignity. 

The review is expected to address the high proportion of Aboriginal babies among those removed.