CAREERS NEXT GEN JOB KIT
CHILD PROTECTION OFFICER
Change the lives of people and communities with this rewarding and in-demand career
Make a difference
Looking for a career with impact?
Become a child protection officer!
Working in community service and child protection is all about making a meaningful impact, connecting with people, and creating positive change. It fosters a sense of belonging, empathy, and shared responsibility in society. Whether it’s helping those in need, supporting local initiatives, or simply lending a hand, community service strengthens bonds and empowers individuals. Seeing advocacy translate into positive change in the lives of people in the community is what drew me to work in this area.
If becoming a child protection officer is on your radar, I say go for it! Working in the community services sector, and child protection in particular, can be very rewarding. It can also be confronting at times, so it is important to practice good self-care.
To help you build the skills necessary for the job, the Bachelor of Community Services at Torrens University gives students the opportunity to undertake two placements in the community services sector. This gives you a taste of what it is like to work in this field, and you can choose to focus on an area that aligns with your interests.
The degree also equips you with theory and skills necessary for a career in community and public sectors. It provides you with a good foundation in social justice, human rights and equity – which are the foundations of community work and child protection. The Bachelor of Community Services prepares you to support people to find needed services, empower communities to meet their goals, and enable wellbeing. Like our graduates, you could go on to work in state government departments, or non-governmental community organisations. Dive into this job kit to find out more about what a child protection officer does, how they help, and where this study and career path can take you.
NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES
Some become child protection officers! Here’s what’s involved…
What is a child protection officer?
A child protection officer is responsible for ensuring the safety of children and young people. They do this through assessing safety risks (like neglect and family violence) and providing children and their families with support and interventions to improve their situations.
Job to-do list
Here’s what you could be doing on the daily as a child protection officer:
Be part of the solution
Performing child safety/ risk assessments
Creating and implementing safety plans and interventions
Teaming up with other agencies to get the services a child or family needs
Monitoring existing cases to check progress
Working with community groups on education programs
Attending any court proceedings for your cases
An annual report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare revealed that in 2022-23, around 1 in 32 (180,000) Australian children under the age of 18 came into contact with the child protection system. That is up from 178,000 in 2021-22. As a child protection officer, you could make a real difference to the lives of the growing number of young people seeking assistance from government departments or community service organisations.
What’s in a name?
A child protection officer can also be called the following. This is good to know when you’re on the lookout for your dream role!
• Child protection case worker
• Child protection worker
• Child safety officer
Get there
One way to become a child protection officer is to undertake the Bachelor of Community Services at Torrens University. This degree covers areas like counselling, social justice, advocacy and welfare. It will also help you gain practical experience working with individuals and communities as the course requires you to do 400 hours of fieldwork placement. You could do this with with government departments, in hospitals or in private practice.
Explore the Bachelor of Community Services here: TorrensCommunityServicesbit.ly/ Or scan
you’ll need...
Besides a qualification under your belt, you’ll need an open mind to be a successful child protection officer. Understanding that family situations can be complex is vital to the job. You’ll also need to be a people person who’s very good at building relationships with children, young people and their families.
What you’ll love about the job
✔ Making a difference in the lives of children and young people
✔ Meeting people from a variety of backgrounds
✔ Working with families to find solutions and create positive change
✔ Being part of a team with a strong purpose
✔ Putting your caring and compassionate nature to good use
Get support
Need a helping hand while studying? Torrens University has a great student support network and can assist you with study skills, adjusting to first year, accessing library resources, IT questions, and accessibility. There are also counsellors available to help you overcome any challenges you may face in university life.
Find out more here: bit.ly/ TorrensStudentSupport Or scan
Send your CV to...
Plenty of places need child protection officers. Once you’ve got your degree, start applying at the following departments and organisations. Government departments
• Community Services Directorate (ACT)
• Department for Child Protection (SA)
• Department of Children and Families (NT)
• Department of Communities (WA)
• Department of Communities and Justice (NSW)
• Department for Education, Children and Young People (Tas)
• Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (Vic)
• Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety (Qld)
community service organisations
• Act for Kids
• Barnardos Australia
• The Benevolent Society
• The Smith Family
• UnitingCare
Change maker
Greg always knew he wanted to make a difference. “I have a strong commitment to social justice and reconciliation,” he says. “I’m on a mission to create lasting, positive change in the communities I serve.”
Now as a senior lecturer for Torrens University, Greg has spent his 30-year career supporting vulnerable children and youth. He says it’s a job where you need both reward and recognition.
“The biggest reward is knowing that you have made a big difference in people’s lives and changed their outcomes.”
Shape the future
Child protection workers like Greg work directly with the people they serve, doing everything from supporting families to stay together, to helping vulnerable young people thrive. “You will need to be both kind and professional to make a difference,” he says.
Interested in studying a Bachelor of Community Services? As an early graduate, Greg says you could work for government child protection agencies or in the community sector, where not-forprofit agencies focus on early intervention and family reunification.
“You need to be passionate about this work to sustain a career,”
he says. “You’ll experience parts of our community that will be confronting. You need to build resilience and practice good self-care when you’re in the field.”
Change the game
Greg believes there’s a huge responsibility that comes with his line of work, and a strong sense of purpose and meaning. Your workday can potentially change someone’s life forever.
“I once worked with a young person who had never seen his grandfather or father work,” he says. “His family wanted him to leave school and apply for welfare payments. As a social worker I supported this young person to complete year 12.”
I’m on a mission to create lasting, postive change in the communities I serve”
Greg Shepherd’s passion for social justice led to a career supporting young people
A day in the life of… A COMMUNITY SERVICES STUDENT
By studying a Bachelor of Community Services, Aanchal Subedi is making a difference one child at a time
aanchal subedi community services
STUDENT
As part of the Bachelor of Community Services, Torrens University student
Aanchal undertook a child protection work placement in South Adelaide.
During the placement, she received first-hand insight into assessing risks and safeguarding children, while handling real cases under the supervision of experienced professionals.
This was highly rewarding, and Aanchal says she was glad to provide children with a safe environment.
“I truly believe that being able to help and
being able to help and work in human welfare is the best”
A typical day at Aanchal’s child protection placement
9:00 AM
Recheck the previous day’s work and ask our colleagues:
• How are you feeling today?
• What is your goal for the day?
• Who are you asking for help to achieve the goal?
11:00 AM
Join follow-up meetings of children with psychologists, social workers, youth workers, case managers and seniors.
12:00 PM
Create trauma profiles and wellbeing plans for children. Coordinate with the supervisor and plan or discuss certain cases.
2:00 PM
Visit residential care houses and do workshops on welfare practices.
3:30 PM
Send emails to everyone who joined the workshop with the details discussed while working.
4:30 PM
Review the whole day’s work, discuss and plan for the next day.
work in human welfare is the best thing. Each drop of water makes an ocean.”
Torrens University played a huge role in preparing Aanchal for the work placement.
With its focus on practical learning, the university provided communication training and exposure to real-world social issues.
Aanchal’s placement coordinator helped her craft a standout resumé and organised her interview with the Department for Child Protection. Torrens University representatives also checked in on her to offer support.
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Bachelor of Digital Media Studies, Macleay College
Volunteer learning tutor, The Smith Family
Get the job!
Start preparing for your career in child protection by skilling up now
Follow
Torrens University on socials: @torrensuni
@torrensuni
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Research
Keen on studying the Bachelor of Community Services at Torrens University? Get across their scholarships to see which ones you might be able to apply for. These include Indigenous student scholarships, industry scholarships and travel scholarships. Find out more: bit.ly/TorrensScholarships Or scan here
Watch
Child Protection – Subject Introduction (YouTube)
Explore the subject ‘Child Protection’ with subject coordinator Allison Soutter. This subject is offered under the Bachelor of Community Services at Torrens University.
The Department (Vimeo On Demand)
A doco that takes you inside the never-before-seen child protection system in NSW. You’ll follow caseworkers as they keep children safe in families experiencing issues like domestic violence, addiction, poverty and intergenerational trauma.
Work on
To be successful in this career, sharpen your skills in:
✔ Problem-solving ✔ Analytical thinking ✔ Communication
Empathy
Time management
Electives checklist
Selecting these subjects in Year 11 and 12 could give you a head start in your child protection officer career: ✔ English ✔ Health and Human Development
✔ Sociology ✔ Psychology
Read
Shining a Light by the NSW Government
This website highlights good practice in child welfare and tells the real stories of children, young people, families and their work with Department of Communities and Justice child protection practitioners.
The Child Protection Handbook by Rachael Clawson, Lisa Warwick and Rachel Fyson
Learn how to recognise abuse and protect at-risk children and young people in social care, education, health services, and sport and leisure settings.
Listen
Child Safeguarding Podcast
An Australian podcast where you can hear from experts and leaders in child safeguarding, child protection and child wellbeing.
Stories from Berry Street
Berry Street is one of Australia’s largest independent family service organisations and has been operating since 1877. In their podcast, they explore current issues (like violence, abuse and neglect) that Australian children and families are experiencing and the long-term impacts of these.