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Communities and Justice

Family is Culture

Independent Review of Aboriginal Children and Young People in Out-of-Home Care in NSW

A large inter-generational family is spending time together outdoors under the canopy of a gum tree. They are sitting and standing on a hill, and there are two dogs with them. The sky is blue. Two black and white birds fly above them.

Overview

NSW has a disproportionate and increasing number of Aboriginal children and young people in out-of-home care (OOHC). To examine why, in 2016, the NSW Government commissioned the Family is Culture, Independent Review of Aboriginal Children and Young People in OOHC in NSW.

The report was released in November 2019. It made 126 recommendations about how the NSW Government delivers services and over 3,000 recommendations referring to specific children and young people.

In July 2020, the NSW Government provided a formal response to the independent review. The response commits to building a child protection system that is more responsive to the needs of Aboriginal children, families and communities.

View our progress to see how the NSW Government is tracking against the recommendations.

A large inter-generational family is sharing kinship and culture and nurturing a sense of identity and spiritual belonging in their children.
Independent Review
Recommends changes and reforms to improve life outcomes for children.
A silhouetted child stands with their hands pressed against a window looking outside.
NSW Government response
Responding to the needs of Aboriginal children, families and communities.
A family is spending time together outdoors under the canopy of a gum tree.
Our progress
We're taking steps to improve outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people.

Artworks by Charmaine Mumbulla, Mumbulla Creative. Find out more about the artworks and the artist.

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We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future. 

Informed by lessons of the past, Department of Communities and Justice is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.

You can access our apology to the Stolen Generations.

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