It’s time for Aboriginal people to make decisions about Aboriginal children.

We are invested in our children like no other.

For too long, the State has made decisions to remove and place Aboriginal children away from their families and communities without us.

In most cases, the issues bringing families into contact with child protection could have been dealt with differently with the child’s best interest front and centre.  

Many of these issues are about the problems of disadvantage and intergenerational trauma.

They are also about many parents themselves having had their own contact with child protection.

Removal of Aboriginal children should be a last resort.

But these problems have often been allowed to escalate to the point where removals become the first step in intervention. Removal is not the only solution to keeping children safe.

Once removed, fewer than 4 in 10 children receive care from Aboriginal kin or an Aboriginal community member.

Without change, as many as 140 in every 1000 Aboriginal children in South Australia will be in out-of-home care by 2031.

Long term care away from their Aboriginal family and community harms our Aboriginal children.

We need urgent action.

We must change how decisions are made and centre Aboriginal people in decision-making.

We must involve families earlier and not later. We must have families lead decision-making and give our parents intensive support to prevent issues from escalating in the first place.

We must have the Aboriginal community legally empowered and resourced to implement its own care system to keep Aboriginal children growing up safe and connected with family and culture.

Holding on to Our Future – the final report of my two-year Inquiry – is our pathway forward.

I urge you to read the report and join the movement for change.

Aboriginal children have a birthright to grow up safely with family, community and culture.

Together, we must make this happen.

The strength of Aboriginal children and young people is their family, community and country.

This connection develops their cultural identity and their sense of belonging.

When cultural identity is strong, children tend to have higher self-esteem, more confidence and greater belief in what they can achieve.

They grow up connected with family and community and immersed in their cultural identity.

But too often cultural identity is being lost, especially if an Aboriginal child enters care.

Aboriginal children are over-represented in out-of-home care in South Australia.

When they enter care, only 3 in 10 are placed with Aboriginal family or kin, a rate that’s decreasing.

And their chance of reunifying is lower than anywhere else in the nation.

This needs to change.

Upholding the strength of cultural identity for Aboriginal children is vital.

But many Aboriginal children and families have told me of negative experiences.

That’s why I’m undertaking this Inquiry into the removal and placement of Aboriginal children.

I want strong Aboriginal voices to speak up and be heard – to share their stories and experiences in safe and supportive ways.

And I want to hear from people coming into contact or working in child protection about challenges with applying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle.

South Australia needs a system that enshrines connection to culture, family and community as a birthright for Aboriginal children.

I want to make sure every Aboriginal child and young person can be seen, be heard and can flourish, whatever their circumstances.

And that their families and communities lead decisions about each child’s future.

Family and culture is everything.

We need more than good intent.

We need action so every Aboriginal child and young person can have a positive, healthy future – enjoying their right to family and their cultural identity.

Privacy notice for submissions

This privacy notice explains how the Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People will manage any personal information collected from you when you make a submission to the Inquiry into the application of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP) in the removal and placement of Aboriginal children in South Australia.

Why are we requesting your personal information?

The Commissioner is seeking submissions to hear about people’s experiences regarding the removal and placement of Aboriginal children.

The personal information of individuals and representatives of organisations is being requested to assist the Commissioner and her office with the management of submissions.

This information will inform the Commissioner’s Inquiry into the application of the ATSICPP in South Australia.

What information are we requesting?

As part of your submission, you will be asked to provide some personal information, including your name, contact details, and relevant population profile information.

Besides your name and contact details, all other personal information requested is entirely optional.

When making an individual submission you will also be asked if you would like to make your submission public.

Who do we disclose your information to?

After receiving your submission, the Commissioner will only use your information for the purposes of the Inquiry.

Your personal information will only be disclosed in public documents if you have given your consent. This will depend on what you elect in your submission.

If you agree to your submission being made public under your name

• your submission may be referenced in public documents prepared by the Commissioner, for example, our interim or final reports.
• In these documents, your name and other identifying details about you may be included. However, your contact details including your phone number or address will not be published.
• Part or parts of your submission may be quoted or paraphrased.

If you agree to your submission being made public anonymously (not naming you)

• your submission will only be used in our public documents once it has been de-identified.
• De-identified means that your name and any information or features that would identify you will be removed. Anyone reading the document would not know that it refers to you.
• Using your information in a de-identified way will help to give the community an understanding about your experiences without identifying you.
• Part or parts of your submission may be quoted or paraphrased in a de-identified way.

If you do not want your submission to be made public

• your submission will not be published in any way in any format.
• This means that we will not refer to the information you have provided to the Commissioner on the website or in any public document in any way other than for statistical analysis (which will not identify you).

Your personal information will not be disclosed to any other party unless you have provided consent or unless the disclosure is required or authorised by or under law.

How will we use your personal information? 

The Commissioner will only use your personal information in a way that is consistent with, and incidental to, the purposes of the Inquiry.

The Inquiry team will examine all submissions to inform the content of the Inquiry report. They will not refer to any specific individuals in the Inquiry report unless you have given consent for your submission to be made public with your name included.

How will your personal information be stored?

On receipt of your personal information, the Inquiry team will store your personal information in a secure database and will take reasonable security measures to protect your personal information from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure or other misuse.

Further information and access to your personal information

You have a right to access your personal information and you have a right to request your information be correct.

For more information, please contact the Inquiry team.

INQUIRY PRELIMINARY REPORT – VIDEO SCRIPT

Today, I am releasing a preliminary report from my Inquiry into the removal and placement of Aboriginal children.

Over the past year, the Inquiry has examined how the Aboriginal child placement principle is applied in South Australia.

We have heard the experiences of more than 400 Aboriginal children, families, and Community members.

And from more than 500 people working in child protection and family support services.

One thing is clear – the system is in urgent need of reform.

People told us early support for vulnerable families is lacking.

Decisions about children have limited or no family involvement.

Rates of children placed with Aboriginal family or kin are decreasing.

The State Government is planning legislative changes. NOW is our opportunity to create lasting change.

Aboriginal children are over-represented in child protection at devastating rates.

One in every two Aboriginal children is subject to a child protection notification.

One in every three is subject to an unborn child concern notification.

Aboriginal children comprise 4.5% of the population, but 36% of children on child protection orders.

The challenges for families are often intergenerational, multi-faceted and complex, and the way that the system responds to Aboriginal children and their families is a contributing factor to poor outcomes.

Disconnection from family and culture will only continue the cycle of disadvantage, poverty and trauma.

So this preliminary report outlines some of the emerging themes from the Inquiry and provides recommendations for the Government’s planned amendments to legislation as a pathway forward.

Together, we can support every Aboriginal child to grow up safely within family and Community.

And to stay connected to culture and Country.

It’s the birthright of every Aboriginal child, so let’s work together to make it a reality.