WATCH
ABOUT THE FILM
“Child protection is everybody’s business”. It’s the slogan we hear with familiar regularity in community service announcements. Yet the only time the public hears about the system that protects our most vulnerable children is when something goes terribly wrong.
THE DEPARTMENT is a feature documentary by Shark Island Productions which takes us inside the never-before-seen child protection system at work in NSW. Filmed in an observational style, it follows caseworkers across the state as they navigate the complexities of keeping children safe in families experiencing domestic violence, addiction, poverty, mental health issues and intergenerational trauma.
Told through the eyes of the caseworkers, complemented by the authentic voices of the families themselves, each story allows us to explore a different facet of child protection, revealing the complexity, bravery and raw emotion experienced in the lives of these people every day.
TRAILER
THE FILMMAKERS
A special thank you to:
KATIE, LEANNE, STACEY, DEB, KEIRON, RUSSELL, TYRAH
and their families
VALERIE, MEGAN, BRITTNEY, RUTH and HELEN
and to the featured DCJ staff
EVA, SHAE, KATH, YVONNE, REZA, ANASTASIA, DANI, MELANIE, KATE J, PAM, ELISE and KATE A
Directed & Filmed by
SASCHA ETTINGER EPSTEIN
Produced by
MARY MACRAE
Produced by
IAN DARLING
Produced by
KATE HODGES, MAJHID HEATH and HAYLEY B. JOHNSON
Editors
MATHEW EVANS and SALLY FRYER
Composer
HELENA CZAJKA
Sound Design
WES CHEW
Sound Recordists
RICHARD BOXHALL, PHILIP MYERS and SASCHA ETTINGER EPSTEIN
Edit Assistant
MEGAN FINLAY
Edit Assistant Placement supported by SBS Diversity Talent Escalator Program
Production Office Manager
ALISHA MANNING
SBS Head of Documentaries
JOSEPH MAXWELL
Commissioning Editor
SUSIE JONES
Post Facility BLUE POST
Colourist
JAMIE HEDIGER
Sound by Unison Sound
WES CHEW and LUKE MYNOTT
Titles Animation
PAUL DUCCO
Title Design
RACHEL DIGHT
Digital Manager
RHYS MORRIS
Education and Outreach funding
THE CALEDONIA FOUNDATION
With heartfelt thanks to all the DCJ staff we filmed with at:
SHELLHARBOUR CSC, EASTERN & CENTRAL SYDNEY CSC, MT DRUITT, ST GEORGE, WESTERN NSW DISTRICT CSCs, the HELPLINE and AFTER HOURS RESPONSE TEAM
and the many offices we visited
A special thank you to:
KATIE, LEANNE, STACEY, DEB, KEIRON, RUSSELL, TYRAH
and their families
VALERIE, MEGAN, BRITTNEY, RUTH and HELEN
and to the featured DCJ staff
EVA, SHAE, KATH, YVONNE, REZA, ANASTASIA, DANI, MELANIE, KATE J, PAM, ELISE and KATE A
Directed & Filmed by
SASCHA ETTINGER EPSTEIN
Produced by
MARY MACRAE
Produced by
IAN DARLING
Produced by
KATE HODGES, MAJHID HEATH and HAYLEY B. JOHNSON
Editors
MATHEW EVANS and SALLY FRYER
Composer
HELENA CZAJKA
Sound Design
WES CHEW
Sound Recordists
RICHARD BOXHALL, PHILIP MYERS and SASCHA ETTINGER EPSTEIN
Edit Assistant
MEGAN FINLAY
Edit Assistant Placement supported by SBS Diversity Talent Escalator Program
Production Office Manager
ALISHA MANNING
SBS Head of Documentaries
JOSEPH MAXWELL
Commissioning Editor
SUSIE JONES
Post Facility BLUE POST
Colourist
JAMIE HEDIGER
Sound by Unison Sound
WES CHEW and LUKE MYNOTT
Titles Animation
PAUL DUCCO
Title Design
RACHEL DIGHT
Website Design
RHYS MORRIS
Education and Outreach funding
THE CALEDONIA FOUNDATION
With heartfelt thanks to all the DCJ staff we filmed with at:
SHELLHARBOUR CSC, EASTERN & CENTRAL SYDNEY CSC, MT DRUITT, ST GEORGE, WESTERN NSW DISTRICT CSCs, the HELPLINE and AFTER HOURS RESPONSE TEAM
and the many offices we visited
Photos by Alex Vaughan
PRINCIPAL PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDING FROM
SHARK ISLAND PRODUCTIONS
PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH
SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE
PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH
NOBLE SAVAGE PICTURES
PRINCIPAL PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDING FROM
SCREEN AUSTRALIA
FINANCED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF
SCREEN NSW
FINANCED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF
DOCUMENTARY AUSTRALIA FOUNDATION
