Questions remain over why 8yo not identified as at risk before suspected murder-suicide - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Clementine Wilkes attended school in Brisbane before she was enrolled in home schooling. (Supplied)

A review into the protections for children who attend school infrequently was launched following the deaths of Clementine and Tiffany Wilkes in a suspected murder-suicide.

Questions remain about why eight-year-old Clementine was never identified as a child at risk, given she had been withdrawn from mainstream schooling.

A decision is yet to be made into whether an inquest will be held.

A highly anticipated education department probe into eight-year-old Clementine Wilkes's declining school attendance in the years before she was killed in a suspected murder-suicide has been completed, resulting in "appropriate action".

The ABC understands mechanisms have been introduced to improve the monitoring of children who move from state schooling to home schooling.

But the Queensland department has declined to elaborate further on action taken while a coronial investigation continues into Clementine’s death alongside her mother, anaesthetist Tiffany Wilkes, who allegedly took her own life.

Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek launched the review into protections for children who attend school infrequently, and those who are homeschooled, following the deaths which occurred a year ago next week.

Dr Wilkes, 54, allegedly killed Clementine then took her own life at a luxury Brisbane Airbnb, backing onto Mt Coot-tha Forest, on September 29 last year.

Tiffany Wilkes was still employed part-time by Queensland Health as a staff specialist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital at the time of her death. (Supplied)

A decision is yet to be made into whether an inquest will be held.

Questions remain about why Clementine, nicknamed Clemmie, was never identified as a child at risk, given she had been withdrawn from mainstream schooling.

The Kenmore Hills property, where Tiffany and Clementine Wilkes were found dead, was listed on Airbnb. (ABC News: Erin Byrnes)

Clementine, described as an excellent student, had started missing days at Norman Park State School in 2024 before being taken out of mainstream education altogether in 2025.

The Queensland Department of Education conducted an internal investigation into the case.

Clementine Wilkes, pictured with her mother Tiffany, attended Norman Park State School. (Supplied)

"An internal review informs system improvements where necessary and is not published externally," a department spokesperson said.

"As the coronial investigation remains open and ongoing, it would be inappropriate for the department to comment further at this time."

Queensland police at the house where Tiffany and Clementine Wilkes were found dead last year. (ABC News: Erin Byrnes)

An ABC investigation has revealed the extreme social isolation Dr Wilkes, a single mother, and Clementine were experiencing before their deaths.

Dr Wilkes and Clementine appear to have become nomadic leading up to the tragedy.

Their luxury car was found parked near the Airbnb where they died with children's toys, clothes, and wipes inside.

At the time of her death, Dr Wilkes was still employed part-time by Queensland Health as a staff specialist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

But she had not worked at the hospital for about 18 months because of mental health issues.

She had previously been employed at Addenbrooke's Hospital at Cambridge in the UK in 2010 and 2011 before returning to Queensland.

In April this year, Dr Wilkes' boutique three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse in Norman Park fetched $1.6 million at auction.

The ABC understands the Queensland government sold the home because Dr Wilkes, who held law and arts degrees alongside her medical degree, did not leave a will, and no beneficiaries could be identified.

That money sits frozen until a rightful family heir is found.

Clementine's father has never been publicly identified.

Tiffany Wilkes worked in the UK in 2010 and 2011 before returning to Queensland. (Supplied)

At the time of their deaths, the home was neglected, unfurnished and full of boxes despite being bought by Dr Wilkes in 2023.

The single mum had posted on social media in 2024 that she and her daughter had become "very sick due to an apartment full of (Chaetomium)", which she described as a "very dangerous mould", prompting them to move out.

"We've had too much exposure already," Dr Wilkes posted.

In another post, she asked what a hotel guest could do to address drains stinking of "hydrogen sulphide or mould".

Months before the apparent murder-suicide, Dr Wilkes was researching her family history.

But the family tree attached to her public Ancestry profile was small.

Tiffany and Clementine Wilkes.  (Supplied)

As an only child, the Brisbane doctor had no siblings, no living aunts or uncles, and both of her parents were already dead.

Her mother Dallas Lorraine Wilkes, who is also understood to have experienced mental health issues, died in May 2021 after a fall.

Dallas was buried under a tree at Kulangoor Lawn Cemetery on the Sunshine Coast.

There is no gravestone, no plaque, no epitaph — no evidence of her final resting place.

If not for a plot number and a few sunken patches of grass, visitors would not know it was there.

Dallas was a librarian born in Townsville and Tiffany's father, Allan Wilkes, was an archivist born in England, who died in 2004.

The pair married in Sydney and had lived in Armidale, in north-eastern NSW, before making their way back to Queensland.

Tiffany's Ancestry profile leaves few clues of her family life.

But on social media, she was like any proud mum.

Posting photos of her daughter's first week of school, she wrote: "First week of school for Miss Clemmie this week! She loves it! With our lovely nanny."

In 2021, she thanked her nanny for making a "spectacular lemon and pistachio" birthday cake and hoped for a "fabulous year".

Tiffany shared photos of her daughter Clementine on social media. (Supplied)

Two years later, Dr Wilkes was sectioned under the Mental Health Act as an involuntary patient.

This did not trigger a report to the Child Safety Department.

Under the Child Protection Act, doctors, registered nurses and teachers are required to report to the department if they form "a reasonable suspicion that a child has suffered, is suffering or is at an unacceptable risk of suffering significant harm caused by physical or sexual abuse, and may not have a parent able and willing to protect them".

Decisions about notifying Child Safety are informed by factors such as disclosures, injuries and behaviours of a parent or child; a child’s psychological or emotional state; the child’s age, particularly the vulnerability of young children, and if there is a parent able to protect the child from harm.

If a person is under involuntary assessment or treatment that will be considered as part of those criteria.

If Clementine had been known to the Child Safety Department in the year before she died, her death would have been reviewed by Queensland's Child Death Review Board.

Tiffany Wilkes and her daughter Clementine were found dead at a property in Kenmore Hills last year. (ABC News)

The Wilkes' suspected murder-suicide is one of several similar tragedies across Queensland in recent years.

There were 23 filicides — where a parent killed a child — in the Sunshine State in the five years to June 30, 2025, according to a Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) report.

QFCC chief executive Luke Twyford researched 109 filicides in Queensland between 2004 and 2019, identifying risk factors such as parental separation and alcohol and substance abuse.

Luke Twyford says every child who dies is a reminder that we need stronger prevention. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)

He said other contexts in which a parent may kill or harm their own child included periods of psychosis, as an act of revenge against a spouse, because a child is unwanted, or because of abuse or neglect.

"Every child who dies is a reminder that we need stronger prevention, earlier support for families under significant stress, and coordinated responses that keep children at the centre of decision-making," Mr Twyford said.