Magistrate livid as child protection staff fail to turn up for 14yo in court - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The teenager faced court in Geraldton after spending the night in custody. (ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis)

A Western Australian magistrate says it is "appalling: that a 14-year-old girl in government care faced court without a guardian, after spending a night in the local police lock-up.

Child Protection staff did not turn up to the girl's court appearance, leaving her without a responsible adult.

The magistrate says she will lodge a formal complaint to the department and has urged the girl's lawyers to do the same.

Western Australia's under-fire child protection department is facing further scrutiny after a 14-year-old girl in its care was left overnight in a regional police lock-up.

The teenager was charged by Geraldton Police on Wednesday over an alleged aggravated robbery, and held in custody until her first court appearance at 10am on Thursday.

Police told the ABC the girl was in custody from 5pm Wednesday until 10:45am on Thursday.

Magistrate Melita Medcalf told the Childrens Court at Geraldton no one from the Department of Communities, which oversees child protection across WA, was present for the hearing, leaving the girl without a responsible adult.

The teenager was held in custody from 5pm Wednesday to 10:45am Thursday. (ABC News)

The court heard the girl was living in Geraldton, while her case manager was based in Perth, 420 kilometres away.

"It's 10 in the morning," Magistrate Medcalf said, pointing out the department had hours to co-ordinate an adult to attend.

"I'm not happy at the fact that DCP [Department of Child Protection] is not here."

Magistrate Medcalf addressed the girl directly, saying she was angry at the situation, not her.

"It's the reality that the department needs to show up and present as a responsible adult for you," she said.

She told the court she would complain to the president of the Children's Court about the department and encouraged the girl's defence lawyer to do the same.

In a statement, a Department of Communities spokesperson said they would not comment on individual cases.

Geraldton-based child protection staff from the Department of Communities (pictured) were not in court for the hearing. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis)

"The safety and wellbeing of children is always the Department of Communities' top priority," the spokesperson said.

Speaking to the ABC in South Hedland on Thursday evening, Child Protection Minister Jessica Stojkovski said she had been briefed on the Geraldton matter.

"But obviously with all children in care, we don't have the capacity to speak on individual cases. Also this is a court matter so I won't be speaking about it."

Ms Stojkovski had been in South Hedland on her second flying visit to the town since a series of reports published in the Australian newspaper claiming more than a dozen children were living unsupervised in squalor.

Aboriginal elders are calling for a royal commission into WA's child protection agency, and for Ms Stojkovski to resign.

Three senior elders the ABC spoke to accused the government of turning a blind eye and "neglecting" children in the Pilbara.

The government has disputed that reporting but admits an investigation into what had happened took too long.

Ms Stojkovski said she would return to South Hedland next month for more talks with locals.

Human rights expert and child advocate Hannah McGlade said multiple elements of the situation were "very concerning".

"It would be very traumatic for a child of this age to have spent a night in a police cell; I can't imagine it as an adult," she said.

Dr McGlade said it was unacceptable the girl did not have a legal guardian present during her court appearance.

Hannah McGlade says children are being failed by the system. (ABC News: Lauren Smith)

"She should never have been overnight in lock-up, and then they [Department of Communities] didn't appear the next day at court," she said.

"That's completely unacceptable and a breach of duty.

Dr McGlade said better early intervention processes could reduce the issue from the source.

"We need to invest in early intervention and prevention that we make the least investment in that area of most states and territories," she said.

"I hear there are calls for a standalone child protection department and I think there's a lot of merit in that and we should be considering that."