DEPARTMENT OF
COMMUNITIES — CASEWORKERS
613. Hon NICK GOIRAN to the Leader of the House representing
the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to the answers to the 2022–23
budget estimates additional questions 3 and 4 regarding volume 2 of budget paper No 2 and the revelation that during 2021–22,
185.7 new caseworkers had been employed but 165.1 caseworkers had left
their role.
(1) Were exit interviews conducted
with the departing caseworkers?
(2) If yes to (1), what questions
were asked during the exit interview?
(3) What were the three most
prevalent reasons for departure?
(4) What plans does the minister
have to prevent this obvious churn and burn of departmental workers?
(5) How many caseworkers currently
have a case load over the recommended limit of 15?
(6) How many caseworkers currently
have a case load over the exceptional limit of 18?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(2) An anonymous exit survey is made available to all
departing employees. Due to the anonymity of the survey, the Department
of Communities is unable to identify the person's role. Questions asked
in this survey include about demographic data; length of employment; feedback
on employment experience, including about the manager or supervisor and team;
reasons for leaving Communities; plans after employment at Communities;
workplace health and safety; organisational culture; and targeted feedback
questions on workplace diversity and
inclusions, including for employees who identify as Aboriginal or LGBTQI+ and
employees with a disability.
(3) In the
past 12 months, the three most prevalent reasons for leaving the department
have been seeking a better opportunity to advance their career, team morale is
low and team culture is not improving, and feeling that their work contribution
is not recognised or valued.
(4) The premise
of the question is rejected. Communities is undertaking a workload management project
for child protection workers. This project has identified areas of focus for
systems upgrades, more accurate information gathering, and opportunities for
training and upskilling to support effective workload management. Employee
assistance program supports are being expanded to extend the range of services
for those working in the most high pressure scenarios.
(5)–(6) On 1 July 2022, there were 75 caseworkers with a case
load of more than 15 cases. Of these, seven caseworkers had a case load
of more than 18 cases.