Outcome 12: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are not overrepresented in the child protection system

Target: By 2031, reduce the rate of over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care by 45 per cent.

Minister responsible

Minister for Social Services

Productivity Commission national progress against the target

The path forward

The Commonwealth is committed to shared decision-making with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in implementing Safe and Supported: the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021–2031 (Safe and Supported). Governments are now working in partnership with SNAICC – National Voice for our Children (SNAICC) and an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership Group (Leadership Group) convened and supported by SNAICC, in close collaboration with the non‑government sector through the National Coalition of Child Safety and Wellbeing, to finalise its first Action Plans. This includes Safe and Supported: First Action Plan 2023–2026 and Safe and Supported: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Action Plan 2023–2026 (the Action Plans).

Community Services Ministers, the Minister for Indigenous Australians and the Leadership Group launched the Action Plans on 31 January 2023.

Safe and Supported has a strong focus on addressing the increasing rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in child protection systems. Through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Action Plan, Safe and Supported is the key Commonwealth lever to achieving Target 12. This Action Plan will cover all aspects of Safe and Supported, but with a particular focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and families, by recognising that they have unique strengths and needs.

Safe and Supported and the Action Plans will be accompanied by a formal Partnership Agreement between the Commonwealth, state and territory governments and the Leadership Group. The Partnership Agreement demonstrates a new way of working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities. It affirms that the Leadership Group will share decision-making with governments on issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and families, in implementing Safe and Supported.

The Partnership Agreement expresses this formal partnership between governments and the Leadership Group, in line with Closing the Gap and Priority Reform One, and acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have the right to determine the design and delivery of services that affect them, which enables better life outcomes.

The governance arrangements for Safe and Supported outlined in the Action Plans will also capture the continuing role for a representative Leadership Group to ensure alignment with Closing the Gap.

Safe and Supported aligns with related national initiatives, including (but not limited to) the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Policy Partnership and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Early Childhood Strategy. The ECCD Policy Partnership had its first meeting on 14 November 2022, which included discussion led by First Nations partners on early childhood priorities and opportunities in relation to Priority Reforms and Closing the Gap Targets 2, 3, 4, 12 and 13. The priorities proposed by First Nations partners build on reform opportunities identified through current national early childhood care and development strategies, plans and frameworks, including Safe and Supported. In 2023, the ECCD Policy Partnership will consider and further develop these priorities, which include key themes across:

• Reforming funding models for early years community controlled services, to better meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families
• Improving transparency and accessibility of government procurement processes to support community-led service delivery
• Enhancing mainstream system accountability, coordination and integration across the sectors and government agencies that influence the health and wellbeing of children and families.

Priority actions

Implementing the Safe and Supported Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Action Plan

In 2023, the Commonwealth and state and territory governments will work in partnership with the Leadership Group on implementing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Action Plan. Key actions are to:

• Delegate authority to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, including to document best practice and sharing learning of jurisdictions and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and developing a set of critical elements or design principles
• Invest in the community-controlled sector, aligned with Priority Reform Two of Closing the Gap
• Build data sovereignty, including through the establishment of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Support
• Strengthen the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce
• Implement the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, including through the development of National Standards
• Improve quality and availability of legal supports
• Implement advocacy and accountability roles
• Address the social determinants of child safety and wellbeing.

This will require all governments, relevant sectors and First Nations representatives to work together in areas such as disability, early childhood education and care, health and mental health, alcohol and other drug treatment and prevention, domestic and family violence, adult and youth justice, and housing and employment, to provide a holistic approach to improving outcomes for First Nations children.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle

All Australian governments recognise that urgent action is needed to fully implement all five elements of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP). Importantly, this includes developing national standards for active efforts to implement the ATSICPP to increase consistency and accountability. The Action Plan also includes continued development of national reporting of the five elements of the ATSICPP. Genuine partnership between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will be critical in delivering these actions, to centre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s self-determination in implementation.

Actions to better embed the ATSICPP in mainstream organisations is also included in the Safe and Supported First Action Plan 2023–2026. This includes recognition that all service providers have a responsibility to respect and protect the rights of children and to provide culturally safe services that support First Nations peoples to maintain connections to family, community, Country and culture.

The Commonwealth will work with all governments and relevant sectors to support the implementation of actions, to ensure outcomes are achieved through collective efforts. For example, the Commonwealth announced $30 million in the 2022–23 Federal Budget for five new initiatives which will contribute towards the broader goals of Safe and Supported, including:

• Improving support for non-parent carers ($7 million over five years)
• Supporting parents and non-parent carers with parenting practices ($3 million over five years)
• Establishing a National Advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people ($2 million over four years)
• Supporting a national child and family investment strategy and innovation fund ($10 million over five years)
• Establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Support ($8 million over five years).

Increase the involvement of ACCOs delivering services in the child and family sector

In late 2022, SNAICC completed a research project, Stronger ACCOs, Stronger Families, to identify the strengths, needs, barriers and opportunities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) in delivering Commonwealth-funded programs, particularly Family and Children (FaC) Activity programs. The report will be published in early 2023 and identifies six key areas for reform:

• Embed community-led decision-making at every stage of funding development and allocation
• Prioritise ACCOs as providers of children and family services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families
• Invest in the growth, development, and sustainability of ACCOs through core-functions funding
• Reduce administrative burdens across the system
• Increase investment in and support for ACCO-led research and evaluation
• Build government capacity to work better with ACCOs.

The Commonwealth will work with SNAICC and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders to respond to the recommendations of the review to increase the involvement of ACCOs in the child and family sector.

Summary of new actions

*A full appendix of new and existing measures being undertaken by the Commonwealth to support Closing the Gap efforts is on the NIAA website, at Closing the Gap implementation measures.