A COMPLETE redesign of the state's child protection system is expected to be released within six months.
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The overhaul comes in the wake of a major systemic failure, which saw 151 child safety alerts ignored in the state's North-West.
Human Services Minister Jacquie Petrusma said deeply entrenched problems within the child protection system could not be dislodged without radical reform.
"Despite the best efforts of all involved, the system faces potential collapse if comprehensive reform action is not taken, regardless of the level of any additional resources that are added to it," Mrs Petrusma said.
The minister has tasked a "redesign reference group" with mapping out a new approach.
Mrs Petrusma has not put a price tag on the redesign, but has flagged that it would feed into the 2016-17 budget process.
Unions estimates the redesign could cost tens of millions of dollars.
Curtin University Adjunct Professor Maria Harries, who has a background in social policy, will lead a team of senior bureaucrats through the process.
"Based on international best practice, the new model will fundamentally change the way we deal with families at risk and the way we apply protective intervention," Mrs Petrusma said.
Children's Commissioner Mark Morrissey, who will join Professor Harries on the redesign panel, said significant changes were clearly needed.
"I think acknowledging the system is broken is a very good place to start," he said.
"It's not simply how we administer the Child Protection Act, it's not simply how we take notifications, it's how all the different components work together."
