Homeless mother's baby taken away while waiting for social housing

A homeless mother in Australia has described the profound grief of having her two-day-old baby taken away by Child Safety officers at Redcliffe Hospital. Hannah, whose name was changed for legal reasons, said she wept for days after the incident.

"It hurts a lot," Hannah told ABC Australia. "At times during the day I'm sitting there reminiscing on the memory of giving birth and how beautiful she was when I held her." Hannah has been living in a tent at a homeless encampment for the past two and a half years. Shortly after her baby's birth, officers issued a Temporary Assessment Order, allowing them to take custody of the infant while preparing a full report. Hannah has not yet received written reasons for the seizure but suspects her homeless living conditions, including a lack of running water, electricity, bins, and toilets at the tent city, played a role.

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It hurts a lot. At times during the day I'm sitting there reminiscing on the memory of giving birth and how beautiful she was when I held her.

She has applied for social and emergency housing but has not yet received any offers. This comes as the Queensland Government cut $42 million from the emergency housing program in its 2026 budget. Current figures show 56,680 Queenslanders are on the social housing waiting list.

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Our building industry is stretched, stretched, stretched because it's not too many years until we've got the Olympics happening here. This is all great, but what about people? Do people really matter?

Ian Baskin, who runs the charity Neighbours4Neighbours and provides food for homeless people, called the situation an "indictment on Australian society." He questioned whether people truly matter amid major developments like the upcoming Olympics, which he believes are stretching the building industry. The Department of Housing and the Department of Child Safety declined to comment on Hannah's specific case due to privacy laws but stated the government is committed to delivering social housing and has allocated over $1 billion for homelessness services over the next four years.

Under the Temporary Assessment Order, Hannah cannot see her baby without an authorized officer present. "She is my baby," Hannah said, her voice filled with anguish. "She's been ripped from my arms, ripped from my heart, ripped from every part of me."

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She is my baby. She's been ripped from my arms, ripped from my heart, ripped from every part of me.