Queensland Child Safety Workers Threaten Escalated Strike Action

Brisbane — Queensland Child Safety and Youth Justice workers are preparing to escalate industrial action after the state government failed to table a new offer during negotiations, the Together branch of the Australian Services Union says.

The union said negotiations stalled on Thursday, days after workers across Queensland walked off the job and took their concerns to local MPs’ offices.

The latest action followed weeks of protected industrial action that began on August 3, as workers negotiate a new Child Safety and Youth Justice Agreement.

Together Assistant Secretary, Dee Spink, said workers had returned to the bargaining table expecting progress but were met with no new offer.

“Almost a week later, there is still no new offer on the table and no meaningful movement on the issues Child Safety and Youth Justice workers have been raising,” Spink said.

The union's concerns come as the Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety's 2025–26 Annual Report shows an AU$86.4 million operating deficit and AU$339.4 million in overspending on supplies and services, which the report attributes primarily to increased child placement costs, including more expensive residential care.

The report also shows Child Safety service procurement spending increased 13.5% to more than AU$2 billion, while the department's overall workforce grew by 2.9 percent.

Together said the report acknowledged that the Unify case management system had increased administrative work for frontline staff and reduced access to timely operational reporting.

It also noted that several Child Safety performance measures, including placement stability, were listed as “TBA”, while no worker caseload data was published.

Spink said the figures reinforced workers' concerns about pressure on frontline services.

“The Government’s report shows hundreds of millions of dollars in unplanned additional spending, driven primarily by rising child placement costs, while the frontline workforce trying to keep children out of crisis remains under enormous pressure,” she said.

The union said Youth Justice workers recorded their largest turnout during last week's industrial action, reflecting what it described as growing frustration across the workforce.

Spink said members were now preparing further action in the coming weeks unless the Government returned with an offer addressing workloads, recruitment and retention, and resources for reforms.

“Nobody wants to be in this position. Workers would much rather be supporting children and young people, but they will not keep quietly holding up a system while children pay the price for continued inaction,” she said.

Latest reports however say, as of yesterday, October 1, the Queensland Government reached an "in-principle agreement" with youth detention unions, concluding weeks of disruptive strikes.

The deal offered 3.5% wage increases in the first year and 2.5% over the following two years.

It also includes lump-sum retention payments of up to AU$6,000 for experienced staff and accelerated pay scales to attract new hires.

Meanwhile, enterprise bargaining and negotiations continue for broader Child Safety and departmental frontline workers to resolve remaining issues regarding workload pressures and staffing.