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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-10-14 Daily Xml
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Families SA Internal Audit

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Education and Child Development) (14:33): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: On 5 August I advised the house that I had appointed former police commissioner Mal Hyde to conduct an internal audit of the employment processes and staff records for all residential care staff in Families SA. This has been an important body of work and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Hyde and the team of psychologists who worked on this audit. This involved auditing internal staff records relating to nearly 500 employees.

On Thursday 2 October, I was presented with a copy of former commissioner Hyde's audit. The audit was to assess the suitability and processes that led to the employment of those people working in our residential care. Out of an abundance of caution, 25 staff have been directed away from their workplace while a process of further assessment is undertaken. A further 75 have been advised they will undergo further assessment. Two staff members who have also been identified for further assessment have not been contactable. The department will notify them of this process as soon as practicable.

I appreciate this is a difficult time for those staff; however, the interests of children in residential care are paramount in this process. Details will not be provided in relation to individual workers to protect the integrity of this process. All staff are being offered counselling support. The assessment panel has begun its work and expects to begin interviewing employees identified in the audit later this week. The panel includes a qualified external psychologist, a senior DECD human resources practitioner and a senior Families SA manager.

The audit has also been provided to royal commissioner Nyland to assist with the royal commission into the state's child protection system. The department has acted swiftly in response to the Hyde audit, and our hope is that this secondary assessment will be completed as quickly as possible, in the interests of both the children living in residential are and those people working in the sector.

I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that we value the contribution that staff make in supporting our most vulnerable children on a daily basis, either through their work in residential care or other parts of Families SA. I know their priority, like mine, is the safety of our children. The department and I will continue to provide updates on this matter when appropriate.

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