Facilitating family contact 1969-present
Changes in law and policy since 1987 have increasingly recognised the importance of family contact for Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their homes and placed into state care.
The Community Welfare Act 1987 (NSW) was introduced with the aim of reforming the state’s out-of-home care system (). The law’s object included recognition of the importance of Aboriginal culture and identity, community structures, community standards and self-determination.
The Adoption Information Act 1990 (NSW) allowed for greater access to information relating to adoptions, which reversed much of the secrecy that had previously surrounded adoption ().
The Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW) also contains provisions designed to ensure that Aboriginal children and young people remain in contact with their families ().
2018 amendments to the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW) allowed the Children’s Court to extend contact orders beyond the specified 12 month period, if doing so would be in the best interests of the child ().
Parliamentary Debate documents call for the meaningful engagement of government departments with children and families and for priority to be given to alternative dispute mechanisms to settle matters outside the Court ().
Discussion and Analysis documents illustrate the experiences of Aboriginal people in state care, noting that Aboriginal children were ‘significantly less likely to have direct contact with their birth families compared with non-Aboriginal children’ ().
This lack of connection with kin and culture has been well documented as seriously undermining the identity formation of Aboriginal children (). A submission to the Family is Culture Review by AbSec identified ‘entrenched systemic cultural bias, lack of access to prevention and early intervention services and mistrust of the statutory system, inadequate implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principles … and a lack of culturally appropriate tools and resources across the sector’ as key factors contributing to this issue ().
Research also demonstrates the importance of kinship care which enables Aboriginal children in care to maintain their cultural identity. Many emphasise that where appropriate kinship care is available it should serve as the primary source of care for Aboriginal children (, , , ).
The law and policy in this subject is accurate as of 1 June 2024.