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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 1 Hansard (15 February) . . Page.. 11 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

There are a number of other general matters on which I will not go into detail. They include the reduction in central office staff, curriculum support, school maintenance and CHADS, the Child Health and Development Service. We were concerned to see the increase in demand for early intervention services. We made a recommendation about that matter, asking the Government to consider the need for additional resources in light of this increased requirement for services.

We recommended that the Government undertake a full analysis of the impact of the SACS award on non-government organisations. This has come up a lot in the Assembly. There have been various debates, and questions have been asked about it. The committee was of the view that it would be very helpful to everyone if we a saw clear analysis of what is happening with the SACS award for the non-government sector. I hope the Government will respond positively to that.

We were also concerned to see the increase in notifications of child abuse. Similar to the recommendation we made about CHADS, we recommended that government consider the need for additional resources for child protection in the coming budget. There was a 40.5 per cent increase on the original target in notifications of child abuse, and the result was a 20 per cent increase in notifications from the previous year. Notifications in 1998-99 were similar to the level before the introduction of mandatory reporting. In addition to notifications with the introduction of mandatory reporting, we have a new classification of consultations. The Minister advised that four additional positions were created when mandatory reporting was introduced. The committee would be concerned - and I am sure all members of this Assembly would be concerned - if the resourcing levels for child protection did not reflect the increased workload in the future. We agreed the issue needs very close monitoring.

We also commented on an issue of purchasing regarding the former Southside Youth Refuge, now called Belleden. That is something the committee has been following and taking an interest in for some time, and we finally have a clear understanding of what has occurred within the service purchasing process there. The committee was of the view that it was not a satisfactory process, because a contract was given to a particular organisation and, after the organisation was the successful bidder, the requirements under the contract changed significantly. Obviously the community sector will be concerned if they see this sort of thing happen. The community sector needs to have confidence in the service purchasing processes of government. They need to know that they are fair. If they express an interest in providing a service, they need to know that that is the service that is being bought, that the price is fair and that it will not be changed later, and that it will deal with the reality of the situation. After what happened with Belleden, which is looking after very troubled young people, we hope the Government improves its game in that area. It is quite clear that it was not working well. That will not be good for the community's confidence in the Government's processes.

We looked at secondary college outcomes, particularly in light of the reduction of staff. We were concerned to see how many students received secondary college records. The secondary college record shows the units and courses studied during Year 11 and Year 12 up to the time it is requested. It can be used if students leave the school and go interstate

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