Child neglect cases across Australia increase; services failing to support at risk children they also forget about the goverment department being corrumpt and standing in a court of law lying to judges as the other is the circut

Rates of child neglect and emotional abuse are on the rise across Australia but the problem is being largely ignored, child protection groups have warned.

As authorities grapple with serious cases of physical and sexual abuse, groups like the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) and UnitingCare are concerned not enough is being done to address those areas which form more than two-thirds of child protection reports.

They said neglect and emotional abuse made children vulnerable to predators and the long-term consequences of such abuse could be as damaging as the physical kinds.

While drug problems and mental health issues were partly responsible, the largest contributor continued to be alcoholism.

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It comes after a number of high-profile cases in recent years including the death of Chloe Valentine in whose mother Ashlee Polkinghorne and her partner Benjamin McPartland were charged with criminal neglect.

Advocates have called for more early intervention and a greater emphasis on children's rights.

'More than just a dirty child'

Child neglect is more than just the image of a hungry, dirty child at school, Sue Packer from child protection group NAPCAN said.

Dr Packer, who is a paediatrician, said she had encountered cases of two-year-olds who could go to the fridge to feed themselves, five-year-olds who cared for infant siblings and children denied essential medical treatment.

It extended to children locked in cars at casinos, teens roaming the streets at night or infants who were injured because of poor supervision.

A common symptom was poor dental care.

"At a far more general level [the parents] certainly don't see the child as someone who needs to be spoken to, loved, cuddled and responded to and it's really very dangerous," Dr Packer said.

"There isn't the interaction, and the interaction is what grows the brain."

Cases of emotional abuse also went hand in hand with physical or sexual abuse.

Frequently emotional abuse was also associated with domestic violence.

"The baby is really quieted out of it and trying not to be noticed because it's a scary environment," Dr Packer said.

Fiona Arney from the Centre for Child Protection at the University of South Australia said the long-term consequences of neglect and emotional abuse could be profound.

"That includes things like problems that might emerge in people's teens or adulthood like mental health problems — so depression, anxiety and also suicidal ideation,'' she said.

"But also health problems, relationship problems, things like early pregnancy, so forming relationships really early on.

"Things like obesity, diabetes and some cancers may actually be linked to early childhood maltreatment."

Cases of emotional abuse, neglect rise by one-third

Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show the rate of proven cases of emotional abuse and neglect rose by more than one-third between 2010 and 2014.

Rates of substantiated emotional abuse of Australia's children rose from 2.2 to 3.1 for every 1,000 between 2010/11 and 2013/14.

Rates for substantiated neglect also increased from a rate of 1.7 to 2.2 for every 1,000 between 2010/11 and 2012/13.

Research suggests the number of unproven reports were up to five times higher than investigated and proven cases, with authorities simply not getting to, or able to prove, many reports.

Workers in the sector said it was not just better reporting, there was more of it happening.

Ms Arney said academics were now observing intergenerational neglect, where parents could not parent properly because they never learned how.

"So we know things like parents using ice, parents using opiates heroin etcetera are problematic as well as parents using cannabis," she said.

"In particular something that doesn't always get talked about is parental alcohol misuse which is indicated in at least 70 per cent of cases where children have to be removed from their families.

Priority given to physical and sexual abuse

Scarcity of resources in child protection systems meant authorities often prioritised children at risk of physical or sexual violence, advocates said.

"I think we have is a mismatch in what we are required to report and what child protection can effectively do,'' Ms Arney said.

She said there needed to be more early intervention and multi-faceted programs that included parenting skills courses, treatment for mental health issues, drug and alcohol support, family violence services and family support.

UnitingCare families director Clarewen Little said housing was another issue.

"I do believe we are seeing more of that as families are under more financial stress and difficult housing situations," she said.

"All the research tells us is that the best place for children to be raised is within their family unit.

"So we want to keep children with their families but we want them to safe, loving, healthy environments for those children."

Ms Packer said society had a role to play and needed to be more child-focused.

"You need neighbours who say 'watch it kid or I'll tell your mum' and we don't have that anymore," she said.

"People use the excuse of being taken to be a paedophile. Paedophiles are rare and paedophiles don't get a look in if everybody else is watching the child