Unionised child safety and youth justice workers across Queensland's south-east corner have walked off the job in their longest stop-work action since 2018, marching on Parliament House to demand urgent government investment in staffing and resources as experienced caseworkers continue to quit the profession in large numbers.
Members of the Together Union downed tools from midday and bused to parliament, with the industrial action marking a significant escalation following a shorter strike the previous month. Bargaining negotiations between the union and the state government over a new workplace agreement collapsed, prompting workers to take the dispute to the streets.
Workers "on the brink of collapsing" as experienced staff flee
Union delegates described a sector under severe strain, with highly skilled caseworkers walking away from their roles for better-paying, better-resourced positions elsewhere. The Together Union has been negotiating a new child safety and youth justice enterprise agreement with the state government since March, but talks have stalled without a resolution.
Mount Isa union delegate Karlie Markham said the Youth Justice Service Centre in her region had lost a collective 50 years of experience in the past 12 months alone, as skilled caseworkers left for more attractive employment elsewhere.
"We're continuously being told that we have to do more with less and we're at the end of working with less. We can't sustain ourselves," Ms Markham said.
"We're on the brink of everything collapsing and we just need the support from the government to be able to give us the funding and the resources and the staff to be able to do our jobs."
The Together Union said the Mount Isa centre had at its worst been operating with four fewer caseworkers than required and had gone for a prolonged period without a team leader in place. Ms Markham said caseloads were not only growing in number but increasing in complexity, placing further pressure on already stretched workers.
"It's just expanded significantly and we're struggling to keep up," she said.
Critical shortages across frontline roles
Together Union Assistant Secretary Dee Spink said the sector was experiencing "critical workforce shortages in frontline roles" and accused the Crisafulli government of failing to back up its rhetoric on community safety with adequate resources.
"This government loves to talk about community safety, but they're not resourcing the workers to actually do the job on the front line," Ms Spink said.
Ms Spink also pointed to the situation in Hervey Bay, where three experienced caseworkers had left in the past 12 months to take up roles with Education Queensland, citing higher pay, lower caseloads and better working conditions.
"You can't replace that overnight," she said.
The union argued that the talent drain represented a systemic problem that no quick fix could address, with years of institutional knowledge and expertise disappearing from the sector at a time of growing demand.
New youth crime laws set to add further pressure
The timing of the strike coincided with the state government's planned passage through parliament of new breach-of-bail legislation, commonly described as "breach bail, go to jail" laws. The Together Union warned the new laws would place even greater demands on an already overstretched workforce.
Ms Markham said the legislation made it more urgent, not less, for the government to invest in the workers responsible for delivering youth justice services on the ground.
"If this government is serious about addressing youth crime and community safety, they actually need to start to get serious about supporting their staff," she said. "And that starts with more staffing and more resources, so we're actually able to do the minimum of our jobs and keep ourselves and communities safe."
Ms Spink echoed that view, warning that passing tougher laws without addressing the workforce crisis underpinning the youth justice system would be counterproductive.
Government says it is negotiating in good faith
A spokesperson for the Crisafulli government confirmed that contingency plans had been put in place to minimise disruption caused by the stop-work action. The government maintained it was committed to reaching an agreement with workers.
"The Crisafulli Government values the incredible commitment of its youth justice staff and is continuing to negotiate in good faith, and we urge the Labor unions to do the same," the spokesperson said.
The government did not directly address the union's calls for increased staffing levels or additional resourcing for frontline workers. The Together Union said the breakdown in negotiations left workers with no choice but to take industrial action and take their case directly to parliament.
With the new bail laws set to expand the reach of the youth justice system and no agreement yet in sight, workers and their union have signalled they are prepared to continue pushing for change. For communities that depend on these services, and for the caseworkers holding the system together, the pressure shows no sign of easing.
