Title: Child Trafficking in Australia: The Story of Classification

Abstract: This paper investigates the classification of child trafficking in Australia by analysing cases from Tasmania, Western Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland that may meet the legal criteria for trafficking but were instead prosecuted under alternative state-based offences. It highlights how Australia's legal definition - heavily focused on physical transportation - can exclude serious forms of exploitation from being formally recognised as trafficking. As a result, such cases are omitted from national trafficking statistics, with significant implications for data accuracy, policy development, and the provision of specialised support and restorative care for child victim-survivors.