Queensland’s child safety system is facing fresh scrutiny, with workers warning that a proposed change to workload reporting could make it harder to see how much pressure frontline staff are under.

The Together Union, which represents child safety officers, says the Queensland Department of Child Safety has proposed removing a workload management tool from its latest enterprise bargaining offer.

The tool records how many children individual officers are responsible for at a given time. The union says it is an important benchmark for understanding workloads and identifying whether staffing levels are adequate.

Together Union assistant secretary Dee Spink said workers were seeking to expand the system rather than remove it.

The dispute comes as Queensland’s child protection system faces mounting pressure. Government figures released as part of its response to a major child safety inquiry showed almost 3,000 children were living in residential care in March, a record level.

The union says staffing shortages are adding to the strain. According to Spink, more than 100 child safety officer positions remain vacant across Queensland, with the government’s bargaining offer providing no clear solution to the vacancies.

Child safety and youth justice workers have been taking protected industrial action since August 3 as negotiations continue.

The issue has also created tension within the Queensland government. Premier David Crisafulli said he believed the workload reporting tool should remain in place, saying it provided an important benchmark. However, he stopped short of confirming whether he would direct the department to retain it.

Opposition Leader Steven Miles accused the government of attempting to reduce transparency and criticised Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm for not attending bargaining meetings.

The union says the minister and department director-general have not attended the negotiations, arguing that stronger leadership is needed to address the problems facing the sector.

Spink said industrial action could escalate, with options including workers walking off the job still on the table.

The dispute comes after the Queensland government accepted 32 recommendations from the state’s landmark Child Safety Inquiry and accepted another 16 in principle.

For frontline workers, the central concern is whether the system has enough staff, manageable caseloads and transparent measures to determine whether reforms are actually improving outcomes for children.

The government now faces pressure to demonstrate that its promised reforms are being matched by changes on the ground.