Every child needs someone. So does every family. What if it’s you?

The Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety has permanent Child Safety Officer (CSO) roles available in Cairns, ensuring the protection and welfare of children and youth. Graduates and career changers with experience or interest in being a social worker, youth worker, counsellor, or similar – this role is for you!

Based in a Child Safety Service Centre (CSSC), you will work closely with other CSOs reporting to, and supported by, your Senior Team Leader. You will collaborate with Child Safety Support Officers (CSSOs) and Cultural Practice Advisors (CPAs) in your CSSC to ensure children and young people’s safety across your region.

We have multiple teams across Cairns that service the surrounding communities. This frontline role is rewarding in more ways than one, with a generous starting salary over $99,000 plus great additional benefits.

What does being a CSO mean?

As a CSO you’ll be a voice for the voiceless, a statutory advocate for children and young people’s safety and wellbeing under the Child Protection Act 1999.

You’ll manage complex casework with support from peers including Senior Team Leaders and Cultural Practice Advisors. As a CSO, you will conduct risk assessments and create case plans, setting children and young people up for success.

Joining a team specialising in areas of child protection including intake, investigation and assessment, ongoing intervention, and placement services, you’ll collaborate with families and care givers, other departments, community organisations, healthcare services, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations. You’ll provide culturally respectful and appropriate support to families from diverse backgrounds, including varying races, socio-economic standings, abilities, and gender and sexual orientations.

Being a CSO means getting to do work that truly matters. You’ll walk with children and families, to keep them safe and help build the better futures they deserve.

To learn more about the CSO role, please click here.

What you get for becoming a CSO:

In this vital role you will walk away each day knowing you’re making a tangible difference to the safety of children and young people in Queensland, but don’t take our word for it – hear what our frontline staff say here. Along with an attractive annual salary in line with PO3 circa $99,347 - $108,191 and 12.75% superannuation, you will receive:

Flexible leave and TOIL options

2 weeks of formal training and ongoing training including one-on-ones with your leader throughout the first year of your role

Many opportunities for career growth and progression

Working in Cairns, you will receive further benefits including:

Incentive payment of $2,500 annually

Fortnightly locality allowance of up to $50.70 (dependent on personal circumstances)

25 days recreation leave annually

You’ll be part of a team that lifts you up and keeps you strong and have the chance to gain deep experience, incredible personal growth and skills for a lifelong career.

For more information on the benefits of becoming a CSO, please click here.

What you need to be a CSO

Our CSOs come from diverse backgrounds; some are trained as social workers, youth workers, counsellors, psychologists, support workers, and more. What’s most important is your passion for keeping children safe. Help us deliver the best future for children and families, rise to the challenge of ever-changing work, and ensure children's voices are heard across Queensland.

Join us and be part of a team of enthusiastic and dedicated advocates across Queensland. As frontline officers, the role can be challenging and confronting, but it is also incredibly rewarding and necessary.

To join us as a CSO you will need:

An Australian Driver’s License, and the legal right to work in Australia

A Bachelor Degree in Human Services, Social Work, Psychology, or a Bachelor Degree in a related field and further study or work experience – please click here for more details

An understanding of statutory role, including knowledge of the Child Protection Act 1999, and the ability to write case notes while maintaining privacy

For more information about qualification and eligibility requirements, please click here.

Building and maintaining professional relationships with families and young people is fundamental to this role. You'll need excellent relationship-building skills, high empathy, and the ability to set and maintain professional boundaries.

Why Work in Cairns?

Far North Queensland is a diverse region of Australia, known for stunning beaches, the Great Barrier Reef and ancient rainforests.

Cairns brings together the best of all the far north has to offer with all the natural beauty and charm of the region, rich culture and history, and all of the amenities and facilities of a large regional city. Cairns is a welcoming, multicultural city serviced by an international airport, multiple shopping centres, and state and private hospitals and schools. Enjoy the tropical climate and beaches, laid-back atmosphere and amazing outdoor lifestyle with waterfalls, walking tracks and all the sporting facilities and clubs you could wish for. There is also a thriving arts and creative scene across the Cairns area, not to mention quality restaurants and hospitality venues.

This unique combination creates a strong culture in each of our CSSCs in the Cairns area, with staff working in collaboration with young people, families and the community. To work in and be part of the local community is truly a unique experience.

When you join our team, you could have the opportunity to travel to nearby areas to help families for the day, or even occasionally fly to remote areas across Far North Queensland to provide invaluable support to children and families.

Working in Child Protection, you will have an instant insight into the lives of the community you work with, and while this can be challenging, the highly diverse range of work you will undertake makes it incredibly rewarding, and a great way to start your CSO career.

Every child needs someone. So does every family. What if it’s you? Kick-start your career in Child Safety - click Apply Now!