Child Protection workers from Lismore and Ballina Community Services Centre (CSC) will rally on Wednesday 24 April 2024. This is to protest crippling Caseworker vacancies and the chronic underfunding and mismanagement of Child Protection services in NSW.

The North Coast has the highest vacancy rate in the state and Lismore CSC is still without an office over 2 years after their office was smashed in the floods. Ballina CSC has been closed due to a mould infestation since January, making an already tough job even harder.

PSA members will gather outside the old Lismore CSC office at 4 Zadoc Street, Lismore on Wednesday at 12:00pm to take their concerns directly to the community they serve.

On Thursday, 11 April a peak meeting of PSA Delegates from across NSW unanimously endorsed a union campaign to fix the state’s broken Child Protection system.

In launching the Child Protection in Crisis campaign, PSA General Secretary Stewart Little said the union would commence a series of rolling campaign actions across NSW. This is amid concern the state’s Child Protection system is on the brink of collapse, with vulnerable children being put at unacceptable risk due to under funding and staff burnout.

“The Government knows Community Services is experiencing an unprecedented attraction-and-retention crisis, with one in four positions unfilled in some regions of the state,” said Mr Little. “That’s according to the Department’s own figures.

“In many cases the Caseworkers who remain in the system are relatively inexperienced, with one in four staff in their first two years of employment with Community Services. Too often they are stranded with the extra workload of colleagues who have left.

“The most vulnerable kids in this state are at risk of serious harm, or worse, because Child Protection Workers just can’t cope, they’re understaffed, exhausted and see no other option than to take action.

“The government didn’t create this problem, but it’s their job to fix it.”

All off-duty PSA members who can attend are warmly invited to join us.

The PSA has notified the Department of Communities and Justice of and will work with Community Services to ensure all urgent response arrangements are maintained.

For more information contact our North Coast Regional Team on 1800 772 679.