Protecting children at risk: an assessment of whether the Department of Communities and Justice is meeting its core responsibilities

This special report was completed as part of the NSW Ombudsman’s Community Services monitoring and review functions.

The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), the lead agency for child protection in NSW, has three core responsibilities: to respond to children reported at risk, support children in statutory out of home care, and provide early intervention and family preservation services.

The report found that DCJ cannot demonstrate that it is meeting its core responsibilities, and that the NSW child protection system operates in a disconnected, fragmented way which is reflected in the poor tracking of outcomes achieved for children.