The aim of this report is to provide an overview of current issues for Australian child protection systems, and in particular to inform the child protection review being undertaken in the Northern Territory. In response to requests from the NT Department of Health and Community Services, the author draws on Australian and overseas experiences to describe trends that are currently shaping child protection services, and to discuss a number of key aspects of service delivery. These include: models of the child protection intake process, interagency coordination and collaboration, the role of family support services, and responding to child abuse and other family violence in Indigenous and rural and remote communities. Finally, consideration is given to the development of a better evidence-base to inform policy and practice, based around the development of better partnerships between government, service providers and the research community.