Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and care

Just because DCJ are involved with your family, it does not mean your kids will be removed from your care. DCJ must work with you to keep your kids safe and well cared for. You might hear this called active efforts. Active efforts will look different for each family.

For more information, see Booklet 1: DCJ want to talk about my kids: what will happen?

If DCJ is talking to you about your kids, it is important for you to get legal advice. The DCJ caseworker can help you get legal advice by doing what is called a LAFPA referral. A lawyer from Legal Aid NSW or the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) will then call you. If you prefer not to get a referral from the caseworker, you can call the phone numbers in the More information and help section below to make an appointment for legal advice.

Any act or decision made by DCJ about an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child must be in their best interests. This means that your child’s safety, welfare and well-being are the most important considerations.

When DCJ makes decisions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, they also need to consider that:

• the child has a right to be bought up by their own family, community and culture and also to keep connection with family, culture and country
• the child, both parents and family, as well as community representatives should be involved in decisions about their care and protection and what services they need, and
• where the child lives must be decided using the special placement principle for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.

If an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child needs to be placed into out-of-home care, there are special rules that apply. This is called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child and Young Person Placement Principle. It aims to keep children connected to their families, communities, cultures and country and to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participate in decisions about their children’s care and protection.

The Placement Principle says that the preferred placement options for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, in order of preference, must be with:

1. the child or young person’s extended family and kinship groups, like aunties, uncles, grandparents or cousins
2. other members of the child’s community of belonging, or
3. people from another Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander community but near the child’s home.

If these three preferred options are not available, the child can be placed with a non-Indigenous carer.

If DCJ do this they must first talk to your child’s extended family or kinship group and with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisations about other options

If your child cannot be placed with you, it is important to talk to your family and members of your child’s kinship group about other possible carers. Remembering that in all acts and decisions, the child or young person’s best interests is most important.

The same rules apply if your child has parents from different Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities. DCJ must consider the extended family or kin of both parents.

If your child has one Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander parent and one parent from another culture, DCJ will consider the best interests of your child when deciding where your child should live. No matter who your child lives with, DCJ must make sure that your child can have contact with their family and remain connected to their community and culture.

DCJ must listen to your views when it makes decisions about  your child. If you are concerned that the Placement Principle  has not been applied or are worried about your child’s safety,  you should tell your caseworker and your lawyer.

For more information, see Booklet 5: What happens when my kids are in care?

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids, DCJ is required to prepare a permanency plan and a cultural plan. The permanency plan outlines the long-term care arrangements for a child and the cultural plan sets out how the child will maintain connection with family and community. It must be developed in consultation with parents, family and kin as well as relevant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.