Child safety Advice and Referral Greens says department should have been prepared for holidays

Questions have been raised as to why the state government was not prepared for a surge in calls to the Child safety Advice and Referral service, after an influx caused a backlog. Latest >

Community and Public Sector Union say Tasmania’s child safety Advice and Referral line is overwhelmed by demand.

Tasmania’s education, child and youth minister says unanswered calls to the state’s child safety advice and referral line (ARL) have now been worked through, but political opponents say the department should have been prepared for an influx of calls.

On Sunday, the Community and Public Sector Union told the Mercury the ARL was being overwhelmed by demand, with calls unanswered and hundreds of online reports of children at risk waiting to be followed up.

The union said there were in excess of 600 online reports of children at risk that were waiting to be followed up.

On Monday, Education, Children and Youth Minister Roger Jaensch said the calls had since been dealt with.

“I understand the backlog of voicemail has been now cleared, all of the online inquiries that are held have been triaged and worked through, we know at different times of the year there are spikes in the number of inquiries that come through, particularly at the end of school terms,” Mr Jaensch said.

Budget Estimates, Roger Jaensch MP. Picture: Chris Kidd

“There is a process to ensure any urgent matters are dealt with immediately.

“Whenever there is known to be a child at risk of harm, they’re seen within 24 hours no matter what.”

Mr Jaensch said there were staffing issues within the department.

“We like other sectors have challenges in filling our vacancies at the moment,” he said.

“We’re actively recruiting all the time to cover peaks and troughs … there’s some things we cannot plan for.”

Acting Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said the state government should have foreseen a need for extra staff, given it had information calls increased during school holidays.

“On the one hand they’re saying three more teams were put on because it’s the school holidays and you expect an increase in calls,” Ms Woodruff said.

Greens MP Rosalie Woodruff speaks to the media on Parliament Lawns in Hobart in May 24.

“On the other hand they say calls weren’t answered because there was a lot of staff sickness. Did they have more staff or not?

“They clearly didn’t have enough staff, the minister’s department are terrible at planning.”

Labor’s child safety spokesperson Josh Willie said it was “deeply concerning” to have nearly 600 child safety calls go unanswered.

“They have been in power for nearly 10 years, child safety issues have been raised throughout that time and this government has failed to address those,” Mr Willie said.

“Members of the community are ringing up to try and get help for a particular child and the circumstance they’re in and they’re receiving no help from this government because the department is under-resourced and isn’t able to meet the demand.”

Calls unanswered, 600 reports: Child safety line overwhelmed

July 17, 6am

Tasmania’s child safety Advice and Referral Line is being overwhelmed by demand, with calls unanswered and hundreds of online reports of children at risk waiting to be followed up, a key union says.

Community and Public Sector Union assistant secretary Tom Lynch said the union had been contacted by members of the public who tried to call the ARL only to have their calls unanswered and their messages unreturned.

“The advice and referral line is the front door to our child safety system, it is who the public are told to contact if they are concerned that a child is at risk of abuse or neglect,” he said.

“It is also the place mandatory reporters are required to report risks to children they become aware of through the course of their work.

“The CPSU has been told by the Department for Education, Children and Young People that demand exceeded capacity the week before last because it was the end of school term, which always causes a peak in calls, and there was a significant number of staff absences due to illness.”

Community and Public Sector Union Tasmanian assistant secretary Tom Lynch.

A department spokesperson said throughout the year, there were predictable peaks in demand for the service and additional staff had been recruited to increase the number of advice and referral teams by three.

“It is not unusual for the ARL to receive an increase in calls the week prior to school holidays, the spokesperson said.

“To address this, business processes are put in place, including having one dedicated team to deal with online reports only.

“As a demand driven service, the ARL prioritises contacts based on the individual level of urgency.

The CPSU understands, Mr Lynch said, there were in excess of 600 online reports of children at risk that were waiting for follow up.

Mr Lynch questioned if such business processes were put in place, then “why did calls go unanswered and messages unreturned”.

“How do you know the individual level of urgency of a report if the call isn’t answered?,” he said.

Mr Lynch said the union understood that there were an excess of 600 online reports of children at risk that are waiting for follow up.

“Imagine the public reaction if the Tasmanian Ambulance Service was overwhelmed with calls but did nothing to increase its capacity to deal with the issue.

“This service is just as critical but not given the same importance by the government”.

Mr Lynch said the government has recently announced some additional staffing, but with many vacancies already it was likely to be “months at best” before workers were answering calls.

The department spokesperson said the ARL contributed to better outcomes for at-risk Tasmanian children, young people and their families by providing early and targeted support.

“Continued calls to the ARL show that Tasmanians understand the importance of identifying issues and asking for help to ensure the wellbeing and safety of children and young people.”