Royal Commissioner Margaret Nyland will submit the fruits of her wide-ranging two-year review to Governor Hieu Van Le this afternoon, with the anticipated raft of recommendations to be made public after a cabinet meeting on Monday.

Premier Jay Weatherill has delayed a planned bipartisan trip to Finland that was scheduled for next week to examine nuclear storage facilities, in part to ensure he is seen to be addressing the significant child protection concerns detailed in the commission’s report.

In a statement released this morning, Nyland – who has already demanded the child protection portfolio be removed from the Education Department and re-established as a standalone entity – hinted at the magnitude of those concerns.

“Many children in state care have been abused and neglected, not only by their families but by the system that was supposed to protect them,” she said.

“It is time for that to change. It is time for all of us to work together to give all our children the life they deserve.”

She said some recommendations would need to be acted upon immediately “to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children at risk of harm, abuse or neglect”, while others would require “medium to long-term planning and it will be important to engage the community in the implementation process”.

Nyland thanked those “who came forward with their concerns, thoughts and suggestions about how to create a better system”, singling out for praise “the children who shared their stories with us”.