Appeal for information

Speaker: Anne Maree Sabellico, Acting Deputy Director General of Community Services

To the person who gave birth to the baby placed outside the South Tuggeranong Fire & Rescue Station and to any member of their family who may be listening today.

I want to speak to you, with no judgement, and with deep respect for whatever you were facing on the morning of 27^th of November 2025.

Your baby was placed just after 7 am outside the station in Conder, less than 24 hours old, in good health, wrapped in his lovely blanket and well fed.

You bravely chose to leave him where he would be seen quickly by people whom you knew could immediately provide medical attention, warmth and safety. That decision protected his life.

I want you to know the baby is now in foster care, being cared for by people who are committed to meeting his needs. Every feed, every check, and every comforting moment is being provided to ensure he continues to grow safely and healthily.

In time, we will need to make decisions about the baby’s long term future. This means we will need to progress towards long term care orders so he can have stability, security and a permanent home.

These decisions are incredibly important and your voice and that of his family – your information – matter more than you may realise.

Even if you feel you cannot come forward to parent him, your involvement now can shape the rest of his life. This includes the voices of extended family members who may wish to contribute to his future, even if they cannot care for him directly. The baby’s future caregivers will need to make choices about his long-term health, his identity and cultural connections, his emotional well-being, his sense of belonging.

The baby is safe, but to secure his future professionals need to understand anything you can share about the information only you and your family can provide that will help in understanding your family medical history, his possible needs, your hopes for his future. You do not have to raise him. You do not have to explain everything.

Reaching out simply allows support services to give him the strongest, safest future possible – with the guidance of his parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles or any family member who wishes to help even from afar.

I would also like to encourage anyone who can assist us with information to make the best possible decisions and plans for the baby to contact Crime Stoppers because it is the most effective and trusted way for the community to share what they know safely and anonymously. Crime Stoppers provides a well-established national platform for receiving sensitive information, particularly in cases that may involve vulnerable people or distressing circumstances.

By coming forward, even anonymously, your family can help ensure he receives health care tailored to his needs, he has access to accurate medical and family history, and he grows up knowing his full life story.

Wherever you are, whatever you are feeling, your voice and those closest to you matter for the future of this lovely little boy.

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If you think you have information that could be helpful, contact Crime Stroppers ACT on 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppersact.com.au