Natasha Maclaren-Jones
Shadow Minister for Families and Communities
Another damning NSW Ombudsman report has exposed that the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) routinely closed reports about unborn children suspected to be at risk of significant harm after birth because it had "no capacity to allocate" a caseworker.
Shadow Minister for Families and Communities, Natasha Maclaren‑Jones, said Minister Kate Washington has presided over scandal after scandal and is now failing expectant parents and unborn children by allowing pre‑natal risk reports to be logged and ignored.
"Just months after the Ombudsman exposed DCJ for closing hundreds of thousands of ROSH reports because it had no capacity, we now find that when it comes to pre‑natal reports, the pattern is even more disturbing, warnings about unborn children are being logged, and close because there is no caseworker." Mrs Maclaren-Jones said
"The Minister has lost sight of the purpose of pre‑natal reporting. She has failed unborn children at the very point early intervention is meant to occur, because she has failed to properly resource the child protection system."
"Pre‑natal reporting exists to connect families with support before a crisis and due to under resourcing by the Minister thousands of reports were closed without allocation or referrals to support services. This is not child protection."
"Minister Washington must end these unlawful practices immediately and ensure there are enough caseworkers to assess and support vulnerable expectant parents and unborn children."
The report, The Department of Communities and Justice's practice of responding to pre-natal reports, found DCJ routinely closed pre-natal reports due to "no capacity to allocate", failed to consistently refer expectant parents to support services, and unlawfully made child protection determinations before children were even born.
In 2023–24, DCJ received 5,007 pre‑natal reports. Of these, 37% were closed due to "no capacity to allocate". Nearly half of those screened as risk of significant harm were also closed for the same reason.
The report can be accessed here: https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/reports/report-to-parliament/final-report-dcj-management-of-pre-natal-reports
