The Wire

Since the tragic death of seven year old Shellay Ward from chronic malnutrition and neglect the Department of Community Services (or DOCs) has been under fire. A recent financial audit on DOCs from the NSW Auditor- General has sparked even more controversy. Figures from the report indicate that spending on each case notified has almost halved over the last five years. NSW has the second lowest expenditure per notification in Australia. But what do all the new statistics from the report really mean?