Ministerial Statement

Child Protection Systems Royal Commission

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (11:02): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Children deserve to be nurtured in a loving home, and families should be supported in creating a child-friendly environment. Where they are unable to provide the level of support our society expects, government must step in to care and protect them.

The final report of the Child Protection Systems Royal Commission was publicly released on 8 August 2016. Titled 'The life they deserve', the report described a system under significant stress that requires decisive action to ensure it better meets the needs of children. The report contained 260 recommendations that provide the foundation for a fresh start for child protection in South Australia.

The report clearly emphasised that child protection is everyone's responsibility. It highlighted that we must intervene earlier when families are in need, that we must work together as a community to assist vulnerable families and children, that we must commit to prevention as the primary focus, that we must use evidence to inform our decisions, that we need to do more to provide every child in care with the best chance of succeeding and, above all, it reminded us that we must listen to the children who we strive to protect.

Recommendation 260(a) of the report states that the government responds on or before 31 December 2016. Today, I table the government's response, which is entitled 'A fresh start'. With the handing down of our response, we outline a renewed vision for a robust and functional system. The vision goes beyond child protection and looks to develop a broader child development system that supports families and children from before birth into early adulthood.

The response outlines how we are responding to each recommendation, and it sets out the plan for reform over several years. It describes our commitment to work closely and collaboratively, hand in hand, with the non-government sector, key service providers and all members of the community to deliver a responsive and effective system.

The South Australian government is making a funding commitment of $432 million to fundamentally change the way in which we manage child protection and wellbeing in South Australia. The government has accepted 196 recommendations and a further 60 are accepted in principle, meaning they are partly accepted or further work may be required to determine how best to deliver the intent of the recommendation. There are four recommendations the government has chosen not to accept after consultation with stakeholders. Further detail about why these recommendations have not been accepted can be found in the response we are tabling today.

The government response was informed and guided by significant input and expertise. Both targeted and general forums and workshops have been held with key non-government partners, members of the community and the Department for Child Protection and other government staff. To ensure a unified approach to implementation, we will establish the child safety and wellbeing advisory panel to oversee reform and implementation. Its membership will include key government agencies and representatives from key non-government partners, such as peak bodies and advocacy groups that represent children in care, out-of-home care providers, social and community services, foster and kinship carers and other partners in child protection.

To ensure we address the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal children and young people in child protection, we have established the Aboriginal Community Leadership Reference Group. This group will also be a member of the advisory panel and includes some of the most respected and knowledgeable leaders from the Aboriginal community.

Protecting vulnerable children can be difficult and emotionally demanding work. The people working with these children and families often do not get the recognition they deserve. I thank these people for their commitment to such an important cause and look forward to working together to create a fresh start for child protection.

Each government agency involved in the child protection system will engage staff to act as child wellbeing assistants. These staff will be local experts on child protection in hospitals, schools and other government workplaces and centres for the community. They will advise people on how to assist families, and when and what to report, and they will have knowledge of the support services available in their communities.

We will trial a new intake model for notifications of child safety concerns: the child safety pathway. The pathway will include a multi-agency assessment team to support the Child Abuse Report Line with assessing notifications by drawing on the agency's information about families and the supports that are being offered. This will help paint a full picture of the family's circumstances.

Child wellbeing practitioners with expertise in child protection are now working in schools across the state. On a daily basis, these staff are providing invaluable assistance to families and child protection advice to teachers and school staff. They are connecting families with services and providing a valuable link between schools and the Department for Child Protection.

The government's response also acknowledges the very important work that has already occurred. Already, 42 recommendations have been accepted and implementation has begun. Key initiatives already included involve the establishment of the new Department for Child Protection and appointing Ms Cathy Taylor as its first chief executive. We have passed the Children and Young People (Oversight and Advocacy Bodies) Act 2016 and the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016. These acts establish the office for the Commissioner for Children and Young People and improve the screening system for people working with children. In addition, the Public Sector (Data Sharing) Bill 2016 has been introduced to parliament.

We have also committed to a number of significant initiatives for which implementation will commence shortly. We will trial three child and family assessment and referral network pilots in the metropolitan area to support and strengthen the capacity of families to care for their children and to prevent abuse and neglect. Together, these and other initiatives signify a renewed focus on supporting families to address problems before a child needs to be brought into care, with an additional $44 million for early intervention programs and services.

Where early intervention efforts fail, we must be equipped to work with families who need help to build safer homes so children can return from care and those who need more intensive help to make sure their children are cared for safely. Therefore, we have committed $11 million to employ a protective intervention backlog team in the Department for Child Protection. These social workers and case managers will work with families to either return children to safer homes or help families quickly address problems that might put their children at risk.

We know that proper reform of the system must be underpinned by a strong and supportive workforce, so the government has committed an additional $10 million to professional development and training of Department for Child Protection staff. A dedicated family scoping unit will be established to map family connections, so that safe and supportive kinship placements for children coming into care can be found as soon as possible.

Today, we also table the Children and Young People (Safety) Bill 2016, which will implement a number of royal commission recommendations and provide the legal framework for a reformed child protection system. The task of reform ahead is significant. 'The life they deserve' report provided South Australia with a suite of improvements and changes that will help us meet our obligations to vulnerable children and families, but our vision for South Australia is for all our children to reach their full potential to be happy and feel secure and safe in their families and communities. I now table 'A fresh start. Government of South Australia's response to the Child Protection Systems Royal Commission report: "The life they deserve"'.