NSW Department of Communities and Justice

Information sharing across borders has been a long-recognised challenge in the quest to improve child safety. Barriers to accessing information in other jurisdictions have left case workers with limited or no visibility to vital information that could change the outcomes of their cases - and children's lives.

One of the main difficulties around information sharing is the use of different technologies and methods by each state and territory agency. It makes information hard to find, match and share across systems. With no market-ready software solution available to address this, the problem continued for a number of years despite several state and federal enquiries.

The federal government Department of Social Services (DSS) took action by nominating this challenge for an innovation initiative. Objective (formerly Itree) pitched their proposed Software as a Service (SaaS) solution and won the initiative. They went on to work with the lead agencies to create a sophisticated data-matching solution that’s the first of its kind. The solution helps to trigger early action, facilitate better coordination across agencies and inform critical decisions to help improve child safety outcomes across Australia.

Objective Reach/Connect for Safety has really enabled us to break down those barriers that exist between every state and territory. It has enabled real-time decision-making about risks for children that helps keep them safe.

Briony Foster

Executive District Director, Sydney, South Eastern Sydney and Northern Sydney Districts, Department of Communities and Justice