Two vulnerable foster children were placed in the same household as a transgender convicted serial killer, it has emerged.
A New South Wales Government department was aware since December that the pair had been placed with the murderer - yet took no action until this week.
A member of the public had contacted local radio station 2GB to report that a 12-year-old and 14-year-old were living with 79-year-old Regina Arthurell, formerly known as Reginald Arthurell.
Kate Washington, NSW's Minister for Families and Communities, has now issued a major apology for the failure during an interview on the same station.
"It should never have happened, and I'm deeply apologetic for what has happened," she said.
Ms Washington described the situation as "entirely unacceptable".
The triple killer began sharing a home with the foster children after being invited to stay by an elderly woman he met at Westmead Hospital.
The woman's daughter then alerted police after growing concerned for the safety of her mother and the children.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that armed police had raided the home and separated the serial killer from the others.
The minister said she only learned of the matter in recent days, despite her department having been informed months earlier.
"The department was made aware of the situation in late December, and some very poor decisions were made at that time," she said.
In 2021, it emerged serial killer Reginald Arthurell was leading a new life as a woman named Regina
|NCA
Ms Washington confirmed the Department of Communities and Justice had initiated a review into the incident.
"This review is going to go through the whole timeline," she said.
"Who knew what, when? And who made what decisions, when?"
Arthurell is no longer living with the children, the minister confirmed.
When asked if she had witnessed a failure of this magnitude before, Ms Washington replied: "No, I haven't. I could not have been more shocked and horrified."
Arthurell was convicted of murdering a former partner in 1995, having beaten her in the back of the head with a piece of wood.
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Reginald Arthurell was convicted of murdering a former partner in 1995, having beaten her in the back of the head with a piece of wood
Prior to that killing, Arthurell had already received two manslaughter convictions.
Following the expiry of parole in 2021, authorities imposed an extended supervision order on the murderer with conditions including electronic monitoring and alcohol rehabilitation.
That year, it emerged he was leading a new life as a woman and allegedly made threats against his female victim's family.
Justice Richard Button noted at the time that Arthurell was in poor health and had made a "sincere effort" at rehabilitation.
But the judge warned that Arthurell had "unequivocally demonstrated a proclivity to violently terminate the lives of fellow human beings".
"A frail, even physically disabled, person can inflict fatal harm once armed with a weapon," he noted.
During a budget estimates hearing on Wednesday, the state's Attorney General Michael Daley faced questions about why Arthurell's supervision order was allowed to lapse when it expired in 2024.
"If Arthurell does not meet the threshold for you to apply for an [extended supervision order], who does?" Shadow Attorney-General Damien Tudehope asked.
Mr Daley took some questions about the case on notice but explained that a High Risk Offenders Assessment Committee advises the government on such orders.
"There are months and months of medical and psychiatric and other assessments made by the experts that underpin that panel," Mr Daley said.
"And attorneys-general act on advice in relation to those matters."
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