SA’s Child Abuse Report Line received a record 63,600 calls in 2023-24

A record number of South Australians are raising concerns about at-risk kids – but how many red flags are being missed?

More than 11,800 calls to the state’s child abuse report line went unanswered last financial year, The Advertiser can reveal.

The 24-hour hotline fielded a record 63,600 calls about children at risk of neglect or abuse in 2023-24.

Despite the surge, staff answered about 1400 more calls than the previous year and the average wait time fell to just over 11 minutes.

But the opposition and relatives of children who died after red flags were raised remain concerned that at-risk youngsters may be falling through the cracks.

More than 51,700 calls about suspected physical, sexual and emotional abuse or neglect were answered by Child Abuse Report Line (CARL) staff last financial year.

An electronic system, known as eCARL, attracted another 55,500 written reports.

Janet Wells and Steve Egberts lost their grandchildren Amber Rigney and Korey Mitchell in 2016. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Janet Wells, whose grandchildren Amber Rigney and Korey Mitchell died in 2016, said it was “a real eye-opener” to see just how many reports were coming in from concerned South Australians.

“But what about those ones that aren’t getting answered? That will always be the thing that stresses me, to know there are calls that are falling through the gaps,” Ms Wells said.

Amber, 6, and Korey, 5, were killed, alongside their mother Yvette, 28, after multiple reports were made to the report line about their welfare.

“Eleven minutes is not a long time to wait for someone to answer, especially when it comes to a child’s safety,” she said.

Opposition assistant spokeswoman for child protection Laura Henderson said the number of calls going unanswered was “alarming” and “unacceptable”.

She cited department data published online in September which showed an average wait time of 15 minutes that month, and more than 22 per cent of calls unanswered.

“This means we could see reports of incidents of abuse or neglect go unreported,” she said.

Opposition assistant child protection spokeswoman Laura Henderson. Picture: Supplied

A spokesman for the Child Protection Department said staff were “answering more calls, more quickly than last year” despite increased demand.

“Data shows about half of callers who hang up do so within five minutes,” he said, adding in many cases this happened after the caller heard a recorded message stating they could make an eCARL report.

The department has committed $600,000 to upgrading eCARL to improve usability, security and integration with police, education and health departments.

There are about 100 staff employed in the call centre, an increase of more than 20 over the past seven years.

A call-back feature introduced in 2017 is offered to all callers, and workers are assigned to ring back within two hours. Overnight there are between two and five staff answering crisis calls and fielding requests from police or emergency department workers.