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Published on
10 Mar 2023

Department for Child Protection finally admits: C3MS, we have a problem!

The Department for Child Protection (DCP) has been forced to admit that its C3MS case management system is not fit for purpose, following the PSA raising members’ concerns around the troubled system’s frequent crashes with the department and in the media.

The Department has now been quoted in an Adelaide Now story as saying that staff experienced “intermittent unavailability” of the computer system and that it had “prepared a business case for the government about how to improve the system”.

ABC Radio news bulletins, ABC online and ABC TV news also reported PSA General Secretary Natasha Brown expressing members’ frustration with the system and concerns that the problems could compromise the safety of children.

Members have been raising these issues with the department for some time and have become completely frustrated by the bandaid measures implemented to deal with the problems.

The C3MS system holds all case information relating to child protection. A functioning system is critical to informing decision-making in this very sensitive area.

The system crashing so regularly – particularly over the past five weeks – is completely unacceptable.

DCP must now acknowledge that its staff are unable to do their jobs properly as long as they have to work with an unreliable system.

Asking members to work overtime to enter case note data (to avoid using the system during normal working hours) or being forced to write case notes by hand and then re-enter them into the system at a later date, is no way to run a department responsible for caring for our most vulnerable children.

As part of the government's commitment to overhauling the state’s child protection system, it must invest in upgraded ICT infrastructure as a priority.

Premier Peter Malinausakas has stated in the media that:

There aren’t too many thing that make me more nervous than a submission that comes to Cabinet  than one that relates to an IT upgrade. They’re always expensive and they’re always risky, so you’ve got to get it done properly.”

The Premier may be nervous, but he needs to make a firm commitment to fixing the problem. This cannot be put into the too hard basket. Dedicated public sector workers, such as our members, who have a responsibility for protecting children and young people from harm, need reliable and effective tools to ensure they can provide the best service to our community.

The PSA welcomes the announcement that a business case has been prepared to address the problems. We look forward to continuing to advocate for our members and for our child protection system to have a functioning case management system.

Members who experience regular problems with the C3MS system should provide details to the PSA.

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