PSA Community Services members have told us of the excessive non-frontline work that is foisted on frontline workers and its impact on their already excessive workloads. This negatively impacts upon their ability to deliver best quality practice for children; and is a very real risk to the health and safety of our members. The introduction of such an onerous audit goes against all that we are trying to achieve in terms of our members and the work they are committed to deliver for children.

All PSA members in Community Services are directed to ban the use of the Out of Home Care Audit (FACS Quality Review Audit Tool V2) due to members’ continuing concerns with the administrative burden and increased workload.

The PSA directs all members to maintain this ban until such time as we advise that it has been lifted. Workers in QACI teams are exempt from this ban as this is part of their core work.

Background

In 2015 the OCG introduced the NSW Child Safe Standards for Permanent Care, replacing the 2010 Standards. All OOHC agencies were required to comply with the standards by December 2016. This resulted in the regular process of OOHC audits in all accredited agencies. The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) had already established Quality Assurance Continuous Improvements (QACI) teams in the districts. Part of QACI’s purpose was monitoring and reporting on how the DCJ districts’ practice was meeting OOHC Standards. Following Localisation in 2015, districts were given greater autonomy on how they used their resources and were encouraged to design with local initiatives.

What the PSA has witnessed is poor decisions made by some districts and misdirection of limited resources. These poor decisions have directly resulted in OOHC practice that was found to not meet the OOHC Standards. The PSA sees this as failures in district leadership. Failures that were all too often palmed off and blamed on frontline workers.

The PSA does however, acknowledge the importance of the Department being able to monitor and report on how OOHC practice is meeting OOHC Standards. In 2016 the FACS Quality Review Audit Tool and Guide was developed to assist in monitoring OOHC practice and help prepare for the cycles of OCG OOHC Audits.

Current situation

As a result of Localisation and poor decision making at the district level, some frontline workers (rather than and/or in addition to the QACI teams) are being asked to regularly complete internal Quality Review Audits for children in OOHC. This is unacceptable and it is not work that frontline workers should do or have the time to do. Frontline casework staff in OOHC, just like their Child Protection colleagues, are already carrying excessive workloads.

Recently PSA members (including managers who are members) in three Hunter CSCs (Cessnock, Maitland and Raymond Terrace) sought the assistance of the PSA as they had had enough. As a result of their action, the PSA issued a local ban on use of the Audit Tool. The work involved in completing a Quality Review Audit for a child in OOHC is huge, requiring a review of every record on ChildStory as well as any paper files over a 12-month period using the Quality Review Audit Tool Guide. The Guide is 74 pages long, has more than 28,000 words, some 142 indicators of practice and another 400-500 evidence points of compliance.

Frontline workers, including Managers Client Services, Managers Casework, Caseworkers, Casework Specialists and Casework Support Workers must be freed to support children, families and carers.

Auditing work for other auditors is not the core work of frontline child protection workers.

Members are protected when following bans

Members are advised that:

1. This industrial action has been approved by the General Secretary of the Public Service Association of NSW
2. Any direction to perform work covered by these bans can be refused without personal risk.

Should members receive any type of threat for refusing to break the bans they should contact their local Delegate or the PSA immediately.

If issues are raised with you about your compliance with the ban, provide your manager with a copy of this bulletin and politely explain that you have been directed by your union not to undertake this work.