‘Alarming’ child safety staffing crisis ‘leaves kids at risk’

At least 150 child safety officer positions are sitting unfilled across the state, with vacancy rates in some regions rocketing to more than 30 per cent.

LNP child safety spokeswoman Amanda Camm warned vulnerable children would fall through the cracks. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Josh Woning

At least 150 child safety officer positions are sitting unfilled across the state, with vacancy rates in some regions rocketing to more than 30 per cent.

More than 25 full-time equivalent positions are sitting vacant in Far North Queensland alone, with more than 10 in North Queensland and at least 32 on the Sunshine Coast and Central Queensland.

In Bundaberg close to 40 per cent of government-funded positions for child safety officers are sitting empty.

The new data comes after it was revealed earlier this year the average tenure for a child safety officer in Queensland had fallen to less than six years.

LNP child safety spokeswoman Amanda Camm said the exodus of child safety officers was evidence of a “broken system”.

“The number of child safety officers leaving their jobs, from the far north to the South East is alarmingly high and putting vulnerable children at risk,” she said.

“With a turnover rate of almost 40 per cent in some areas, there is no consistency of oversight to ensure children are protected. Vulnerable children will fall through the cracks.”

A Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs spokeswoman said there were currently 150 vacant child safety officer positions in Queensland, with 1,272 employed.

“Our department is experiencing the same recruitment challenges as many other employers right across the nation,” she said.

“However, regional child safety offices continually monitor their priorities, pressures and demands at a local level and have capacity to redistribute resources, as required.

“This flexibility allows the right resources to be redirected to where they are needed.”

Ms Camm said children’s lives were “being put at risk”, and said keeping vulnerable children safe must be a priority.

“The Minister has failed to ensure we have enough child safety officers to investigate significant harm,” she said.

“The Minister has also failed to ensure her own government’s timeframes are met with latest data showing more than 1,000 cases were not completed within 100 days of being reported.

“We cannot afford to have this government failing our most vulnerable children by missing crucial timelines for investigations leaving kids potentially at risk.

“The government must act now.”

The Department said the government had funded an additional 782 child and family services staff since 2015, and that a student place program had been “particularly effective”.

“We continue to undertake a range of recruitment activities and strategies to encourage suitably qualified Queenslanders to pursue a career as a child safety officer,” she said.

“209 students (have been) employed as a child safety officer or other departmental staff member since 2019.

“A paid student placement program was trialled this year, and it’s expected this incentive will help attract students as they receive a wage while completing their final placement.

“We will continue to invest in more frontline staff and actively recruit new child safety officers, while supporting existing staff in their challenging and important job of protecting Queensland’s most vulnerable children.”