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 amalgamated 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.

An ever-rising workload has meant caseworkers are increasingly being asked to manage caseloads that exceed legal levels while over 1000 children under the department’s watch lack an allocation case worker.

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

Child Protection needs stand-alone funding and support to fix these issues.

What happens when the Department fails a child in care?

Children in care do not have an independent system to have their concerns investigated and addressed.

The current Child Advocate is an employee of the very department the child is raising concerns about, which fails the important test of independent review.

The WA Liberals will ensure children in care can access independent oversight of their case.

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.  

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.

We will also establish independent oversight for individual cases.

This will provide clear supervision and scrutiny within the department, ensuring children’s safety and well-being remain the top priority.

Children will be able to raise concerns about their care through the Commissioner for Children and Young People.

Not only will this guarantee an independent investigation for the child, it will provide the Commissioner with insights into departmental issues to investigate on a systemic level.

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.