The Child Protection portfolio is the bedrock of prevention and early intervention against family crises.

Its purpose is to protect the rights of children and ensure they can live a life free from abuse – to protect our most vulnerable from violence and neglect.

How this key government service is operated can often be life-changing, for better or worse.

When Labor was elected in 2017, it abolished the Department of Child Protection and moved it into a mega Department of Communities, along with 10 other portfolios reporting to five different ministers, all competing for funding and resources.

This was despite a government report commissioned by Labor in 2007 stating Child Protection should remain a stand-alone department to ensure it remains a number one priority.  

The impact of this senseless decision to put cost-cutting ahead of children has been profound.

Each year, the Department of Communities receives around 60,000 calls about child protection and conducts 15,000 child safety investigations.

The ever-increasing workload has meant caseworkers are increasingly being asked to manage caseloads that exceed legal levels.

There are often children in state care who are unaccounted for.

The Department of Communities simply cannot manage the workload with its current resources, and the problem is getting worse.

The WA Liberals know Child Protection needs stand-alone funding and support to fix these issues.

Recent oversight of the Department’s strategies show it is failing to keep kids out of state care.

Our children deserve better.

Every Western Australian deserves to know the government is working to prevent child abuse and neglect, and the separation of families.

Only a WA Liberal Government will prioritise it.

The WA Liberals believe in dedicated care for vulnerable children and giving the next generation the best start in life.  

Child Protection is highly complex and requires specialised focus and oversight.  

Sadly, since Labor was elected in 2017, this critical government service has been undervalued, underfunded, and under-resourced.

Labor’s decision to abolish the stand-alone Department of Child Protection and bundle it into a mega department with multiple portfolios has had dire flow-on effects for both caseworkers and those children the service is supposed to be protecting.

Western Australian families and children deserve better.

A WA Liberal Government will re-establish a stand-alone Department of Child Protection to ensure this vital service is given the priority and focus it deserves.

A stand-alone department will deliver the resources needed to support passionate caseworkers and staff, with direction and accountability from a single minister.

This will provide clear oversight within the department to ensure children’s safety and wellbeing is always the top priority.

An additional $40 million over the next four years will be allocated to this new Department’s budget, boosting resources and support for families.

Caseworkers and staff are doing their best with the very little they have and more needs to be done to support them.

Removing children from families should always be a last resort and the extra funding will invest in prevention and early intervention programs, providing greater access to mental health services and support for families in crisis.

Western Australians deserve to live in a state where every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Only the WA Liberal Party is committed to delivering dedicated government departments which will allow our most vulnerable to thrive, not just survive.