As you are aware, the Department is intending to turn KiDS off tonight. Whilst there will still be very limited access to specific roles, those in frontline child protection will have none.

The PSA has advocated tirelessly since the introduction of ChildStory to keep KiDS open to frontline staff to allow them to continue their invaluable work. We have campaigned, lobbied and written to all who might have listened.

In a last ditch effort to, at the very least, keep KiDS open as a read-only resource for the important task of keeping the most vulnerable children and families safe, we sent letters to The Honourable Gareth Ward, MP and Michael Coutts-Trotter with new evidence and information that KiDS is a valuable and a needed tool and that not all information that is migrated is visible. The letters were sent on 30 March 2020 to try to persuade those at the top to continue to provide the tools needed to effectively do your job.

We will continue to advocate for you to have the tools and equipment necessary to efficiently and effectively do your job.

In the letters, we clearly highlighted the risks and consequences of turning off KIDS. The PSA has asked that KiDS remain active as a read-only asset and tool for child protection workers, as it allows easy and ready access to some 30 years of electronic records relating to around one million children and adults.

The PSA continues to state that KiDS is a long-standing, well-used and resourced tool for frontline child protection workers. An arbitrary decision to turn it off completely will only put the safety and lives of children at an unnecessary risk.

The NSW State Government has an obligation to do everything in its power to protect those who are most vulnerable. Ironically KiDS will still remain and parts of the NSW State Government will continue to have access, why not those who need it most?