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Unsupported under 16 year olds to be immediately referred to a Services Australia social worker 003-12030020

If a child is in immediate danger or risk of harm you must act, and a delegate must call 000.

This document outlines referring unsupported under 16 year olds to a Services Australia social worker.

Referring an unsupported under 16 year old to a social worker

Step	Action
1	Under 16 year old customer contacts for the first time Advise the customer they will need to speak to a Services Australia social worker and this will be arranged immediately. Search for an existing file for the customer. If the customer’s file exists as a child record, convert the child Customer Reference Number (CRN) to a customer record and update the customer’s record accordingly. See Searching for a customer on the system If there is no existing file for the customer, add them to the system. See Adding a customer to the system Note: if for any reason, e.g. system outage, it is not possible to convert or create a record for the customer, Service Officers must still immediately refer the child to a social worker. Is the customer at a service centre? Yes, go to Step 2 No, go to Step 3
2	Refer to local social worker Refer them to the local social worker for immediate assistance by contacting the local social worker directly. Is a local social worker available? Yes, refer to the social worker immediately. Go to Step 4 No, go to Step 3
3	Warm transfer call to social worker Warm transfer to the Social Work Line and explain the situation. If no social workers are available, create a Social Work referral. To create a referral in Process Direct: open the customer's record in Process Direct Select > Referral Update: Referral type, select Social Work Service Referral reason, select Young Person 15 years and under select Next to view the Referral Summary page. Note: a warning message will show. Read to make sure the correct process is followed Referral detail, select the customers location Select Next to view the Referral summary. Review the referral details in the Referral data table Add additional comments to support reason for referral Select Finish Select Young Person 15 years and under as the referral reason. Note: do not run the social work referral workflow on a child CRN or another person's record e.g. a parent of the customer. If there are concerns about the safety of the child, follow Services Australia's child may be at risk of harm process.
4	Update customer record Record details of the interaction with the customer on a DOC Note: Child Safety Reporting or other sensitive information must not be recorded on customer records. Do not record any information about the interaction on another person’s record e.g. a parent of the customer.