Release date: 16/11/22

In response to child protection reports delivered last week by former Police Commissioner Mal Hyde and child protection expert Kate Alexander, the Malinauskas Government will immediately embark on recruiting additional staff to aid in the protection of South Australian children and young people.


Using funding from the additional $128.9 million allocated to child protection in this year’s State Budget, the Department for Child Protection (DCP) will immediately seek to recruit the services of 42 additional social workers, and 10 additional Principal Aboriginal Consultants.

The Alexander report highlighted that the child protection system is under pressure. Ensuring all offices are responding to a level of cases relative to the size of its workforce and ensuring additional resources are allocated where need is greatest, is essential.

10 additional Principal Aboriginal Consultants will be employed in line with recommendations and observations from Ms Alexander’s report, to provide appropriate cultural advice to social workers working with Aboriginal families in a child protection setting.

These actions come alongside ongoing work coordinated by SAPOL to undertake a multi-agency welfare check on the approximately 500 children identified in Mal Hyde’s report, and establishing a South Australia Child Protection Expert Group.


Quotes

Attributable to Katrine Hildyard

The Malinauskas Government is committed to appropriately resourcing our child protection system, so that vulnerable children and young people receive additional levels of support and security.

It is extremely important that we listen to these reviews, and act swiftly and decisively to respond to the recommendations provided by Mal Hyde and Kate Alexander.

We are determined to continue to work toward lasting improvements to the child protection system.