- Labor planned to sack 91 critical and regional child safety staff at christmas
- The Crisafulli Government injects $3.65 million to save staff
- The Crisafulli Government is committed to growing frontline child protection workforce by 20 per cent
The Crisafulli Government has saved the jobs of 91 frontline child safety staff Queensland Labor planned to sack at Christmas.
The former Labor Government did not allocate funding for 91 frontline child protection staff in the 2024-25 budget. This is in addition to the half a billion-dollar budget blackhole in the residential care sector the former Government tried to cover up.
The Crisafulli Government has done what Queensland Labor refused to do and acted to fund these critical roles.
The 91 positions saved by the Crisafulli Government which are based across regional Queensland include:
- Paralegals who provide support to prepare Child Safety Officers (CSOs) for Children's Court matters.
- Case Support Workers who provide administrative and client support services to assist CSOs with their case work. This reduces the administrative burden on CSOs so they can prioritise child protection practice activities.
- The Finding Kin team whose focus is on increasing the number of children able to live with kin, to work towards reducing the number of children in residential care.
Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm has visited frontline staff across the state including Mount Isa, Townsville, Cairns, Mackay, and a number of offices across the south-east to hear firsthand how important these roles are to the protection of children.
Ms Camm said the Crisafulli Government is working to increase frontline child protection staffing numbers, not sack staff at Christmas.
"These staff members are crucial in the effort to protect vulnerable children across our state, and it is shameful that Queensland Labor refused to fund their jobs and take the protection and care of at-risk children seriously," Ms Camm said.
"Last week Labor Opposition tried, again, to run another baseless scare campaign, well here we have exposed that the former government had a cruel plan to cut 91 critical regional frontline workers.
"These staff have been in limbo since July, with many leaving their positions due to a lack of job and financial security a week out from Christmas.
"The Crisafulli Government has acted, and we have secured these positions, but we are now forced to recruit for the many positions that have been left vacant due to Queensland Labor's inability to offer job security for these critical workers.
"We will invest the $3.65 million needed to fund these positions until the end of the financial year and we will continue to fund them permanently.
"The Crisafulli Government is also committed to growing the frontline child protection workforce by 20 per cent to help our state's most vulnerable children."
Minister Camm said these 91 positions are critical for the protection of children.
"Since becoming Minister, I have had the opportunity to visit several Child Safety Service Centres across the state and hear firsthand about the challenges our frontline staff are facing.
"During these visits the passion and dedication of those who commit themselves to child protection work is clear, including the 91 staff the former government were ready to sack.
"I will continue meeting with staff across the state to unravel and fix the mess the former government left behind, so we can better protect children and take care of the state's hardworking child protection staff."
The Crisafulli Government has also committed to a 24-hour dual carer model for residential care facilities and will deliver Queensland's first SecureCare facility to provide safe care for children who are a danger to themselves and others.
This is on top of the funding to pilot a professional foster care program for children with disability and complex needs currently living in residential care.
There will also be an extra $1,500 of funding for every child living in out-of-home care to assist with the cost of extracurricular activities and education support.
Minister Camm will host a forum with the residential care sector this week to talk through the dual carer model and other reforms for the industry, as part of delivering on the Crisafulli Government's 100 day commitments.
