A baby girl was declared dead shortly after she was found after midnight on a Surfers Paradise beach on Queensland's Gold Coast and a couple are in police custody being questioned.
The infant, believed to be about nine months old, was found by a member of the public on the edge of the surf near Staghorn Avenue, on the Esplanade, about 12.30am on Monday.
Detective Inspector Marc Hogan said the body was believed to have been in the water and did not have any visible injuries.
Post-mortem results were expected on Monday afternoon.
Detectives were focusing on looking into the couple's backgrounds while they waited for post-mortem results to determine whether the death was suspicious.
NSW police had also been notified of the baby's death because initial information suggested the couple had moved between the Gold Coast and Tweed Heads, Inspector Hogan said.
Police initially told Fairfax Media the child was believed to be about two years old, but Inspector Hogan provided an update on the child's age during a media briefing.
Surfers Paradise has been bustling with teenagers, as thousands of school leavers began their celebrations on the Gold Coast on Saturday.
The person who found the child was not believed to have been a school leaver and no link between the child's death and schoolies celebrations had been found, police said.
Overnight, police arrested nine schoolies on 11 offences which were mainly for public nuisance and drug possession. Six schoolies were issued with liquor infringements notices.
