Victoria will underspend on its child protection workforce budget by $19.6 million this year despite demand increasing between 9 and 15 per cent over the year.

At the same time, parent counselling hotline Parentline is set to be closed as of October 31, which the public service union says will put extra pressure on the child protection system.

The CPSU are calling on the government to save Parentline and prioritise spending for the child protection system.

Leaked internal briefings, obtained by The Age , show Victoria will not spend $19.6 million of its planned budget for its child protection workforce in 2025-26, with the money to be moved around to other areas of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing such as support and training and housing initiatives.

The projected fig

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