Queensland Inquest Hears Elizabeth Struhs Child Protection Case Was Not Prioritised Due to High Workloads

A Queensland coroner has been told that the child protection case involving eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs was not fully prioritised because the staff member handling the matter was managing a heavy workload. Elizabeth tragically died on January 7, 2022, from diabetic ketoacidosis after her father ceased administering insulin to treat her type 1 diabetes at their Toowoomba home. Her father had previously converted to a religious sect that rejected modern medicine.

Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard is examining the circumstances surrounding the young girl's death during an ongoing inquest. Previous hearings were told that Elizabeth first came to the attention of child safety authorities in 2019 after arriving at a hospital in a coma. Although specialist doctors in Brisbane objected, the department ultimately returned Elizabeth to her father's care under a voluntary intervention with parental agreement.

Testifying before the court, the single child safety officer assigned to the file admitted she did not manage the case intensively or carry out weekly check-ins as outlined in departmental guidelines. She explained that she faced a demanding caseload at the Toowoomba child safety service centre, managing approximately 25 to 28 children across 15 families at the time. Counsel assisting the coroner noted that many other cases involved severe issues such as domestic violence, drug abuse, and sexual abuse, leading the worker to agree she may have been influenced by the orderly presentation of the Struhs household and prioritised other situations deemed to carry more immediate risks.

The case worker also revealed she had asked not to be assigned to the file due to a personal connection, as her own child had nearly suffered a fatal bout of type 1 diabetes at age six. Furthermore, she stated she did not fully appreciate the risks posed by the mother's religious group, which officials viewed as a domestic support network. By November 2019, a senior officer assessed Elizabeth as safe, and the departmental intervention was concluded.

Last year, 14 adult members of the religious sect, known as the Saints—including Elizabeth's parents, Jason and Kerrie Struhs, and group leader Brendan Stevens—were convicted of her manslaughter. The inquest before Coroner Kirkegaard is continuing.