Eight Department of Community Services workers have been transferred from the Wollongong Joint Investigation Response Team with little explanation after allegations of misconduct and a ''sexualised workplace'' culture.
The move has bewildered staff, who deal daily with the worst cases of neglect and physical and sexual abuse against children, and left the team's operations in disarray.
The workers received a letter outlining unspecified allegations of misconduct, an ''inappropriate sexualised workplace culture'', unsatisfactory performance and questionable work practices from DOCS head office in Sydney before being told they had to pack up their desks on Tuesday.
DOCS does backflip on staff transfersWorkers had not been given any warnings and were not given details of the allegations until a union meeting yesterday afternoon.
The Illawarra Mercury was told the allegations related to a poster of model Jennifer Hawkins in the male toilets, work clothing and a comment about a DOCS worker's daughter.
The DOCS staff worked with police at the Joint Investigation Response Team (JIRT) which is responsible for children from Helensburgh to the Victorian border.
The move by DOCS management left one of the state's busiest JIRTs without enough qualified staff.
Police cannot meet families or children without a qualified DOCS worker present so the entire JIRT office was closed on Tuesday afternoon.
Yesterday, new DOCS workers were moved into the Wollongong JIRT, however it was understood they could not interview children or parents and police had to wait for a qualified DOCS worker to drive from Kogarah if they needed to conduct interviews.
A source close to the removed DOCS workers said putting fewer qualified workers into the JIRT put already at-risk children at greater risk of harm.
"The police look at the criminal side (of a case) and DOCS looks at the welfare side," he said. "If an untrained DOCS person did the job, there's big risks.
"It's scary what could happen. You've got to know the right things to remove kids and specific legislation to do that."
The source worked for three years at Wollongong JIRT but left the unit before the abrupt transfers took place.
He described the move by DOCS head office as devious, deceitful and bizarre.
A DOCS spokeswoman said the removal of workers from the Wollongong JIRT would not affect clients or any investigations.
"The department's concerns are about internal questionable work practices which were considered to warrant this action," she said.
However, she did not explain what the questionable work practices were.
"There is no suggestion that JIRT clients have been affected by these work practices," the DOCS spokeswoman said.
She said discussions were continuing with staff involved.
The Mercury understands the DOCS workers were shocked at their treatment by management and police were upset that their colleagues had been removed.
One of the DOCS workers who was transferred out of Wollongong on Tuesday was on maternity leave.
The former JIRT member said the Wollongong team got along well and did not understand the nature of the allegations made by DOCS head office.
"They have never been told: 'Cut it out, whatever you're doing'," he said.
Unlike other JIRTs, the police and DOCS workers at Wollongong were not segregated and were on friendly terms.
"Management said not to talk to each other or anyone else about this," he said.
The DOCS workers are believed to have been sent to DOCS offices at Shellharbour and Bowral, where they would be expected to work in roles that did not require their specialist knowledge.
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