The impact of cutting 225 public servants from the Department of Child Safety by the previous government in 2012-13 is one area to be scrutinised by an expert panel to recommend major changes to foster care family approvals and blue card applications in Queensland.
On Sunday Bryan Smith, the executive director of Foster Care Queensland, said the job cuts in 2012-13 had a serious impact on Queensland's child protection services.
"I think the impact was enormous," Mr Smith said.
"You take 225 workers out of a system and then you take that expertise out of the system," he said.
Mr Smith said he did not think it impacted on child protection reforms, but put extra pressure on child protection front-line services.
"What I think it has done is effect the front-line services that we undertake."
That was rejected on Sunday by Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls, the LNP's treasurer in the previous government.
Mr Nicholls said the only child safety jobs axed by the previous government were "business process type positions."
"They were preparing invoices and making payments. So I reject entirely that claim by the government."
The impact of the job cuts was described by Mr Smith, not by the state government that has promised to investigate their impact.
While Mr Nicholls described Queensland's child protection services as being "in crisis", Mr Smith described them as "stretched" but not yet in crisis.
Mr Smith - who has been a foster parent for 25 years - said the number of people applying to become foster parents had doubled since criminal charges were levelled against one foster family last week.
"Which is quite extraordinary," Mr Smith said.
"We are currently getting around 30 inquiries a day for foster care," he said.
"These inquiries are from people who feel they can actually do something about the lives of children."
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Cheryl Vardon, the principal commissioner of the independent body set up by former child commissioner Tim Carmody in 2013 to oversee child protection in Queensland - the Queensland Family and Child Commission, made the announcement on Sunday morning.
On Saturday the Queensland Opposition called for an independent investigation into child protection in Queensland after a string of serious allegations raised against foster carers.
Opposition child safety minister Ros Bates on Saturday questioned the responses to emerging issues by Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman.
The new child protection expert panel would present its interim findings in October 2016, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
The expert panel includes:
- Linda Apelt, the former director-general of the Department of Communities;
- Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston AM;
- Former police assistant commissioner of the Ethical Standards Command, Paul Doyle; and
- Foster Care Queensland executive director Bryan Smith.
Two key factors to establishing the "expert panel" were the circumstances involved in the disappearance and death of Logan teenager Tiahleigh Palmer, who was in foster care, and child exploitation and indecent dealing charges against a North Queensland foster father on Saturday.
"With the independent Queensland Family and Child Commission, the external expert panel will provide a comprehensive inquiry into the operation of foster care and Blue Cards," Ms Palaszczuk said.
Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston listed including photographs on blue cards as one immediate improvement she would recommend.
Foster Care Queensland executive director Bryan Smith said major improvements to the flow of information from police to government agencies checking foster care and blue card applications was where he wanted major improvements.
"We need that information to inform assessments," Mr Smith said.
He said the previous government's decision to cut 225 jobs from child safety forced other staff to leave because of workload pressure.
Mr Smith said around "one in a hundred" foster care applications were knocked at the final stage, but at the first stage around "80 per cent" of applicants were sifted out.
Hetty Johnston said investigating whether any of the 2000 blue care applicants who were initially rejected, managed to successfully apply under new names should be a priority for the expert panel.
Mr Nicholls said it was time Ms Fentiman was sacked as Child Safety minister.
"When will Annastacia Palaszczuk do the right thing by the children of Queensland and sack this incompetent minister," he said.
Mr Nicholls said the review was "hastily cobbled together" by the premier's team as she returned from holidays, a point denied by the premier.
"In essence, this is the review you have when you don't want to have a full independent inquiry," Mr Nicholls said.
The expert panel is part of the Queensland's Family and Child Commission, which is an independent body to government.
Mr Nicholls said the government's response - while partly welcome - was not independent and broad enough.
"All we have seen today is a political response to a problem that is increasingly widespread throughout Queensland."
