November 2022

AbSec and the ALS have developed this report to provide an independent, Aboriginal community perspective on the NSW Government’s implementation of the 2019 Family Is Culture Review Report recommendations.

The Family Is Culture Review was the most comprehensive review ever undertaken into Aboriginal children in the NSW child protection system. Its findings and recommendations provide a roadmap to transforming the child protection system in NSW to address its disproportionately harmful impact on Aboriginal children and families. It provides the evidence and actions needed to achieve the Closing the Gap target of reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care by 45% by 2031.

Sadly, the NSW Government's implementation of Family Is Culture recommendations has been piecemeal. Pre-existing, government-led priorities and reform initiatives have been repositioned by the government as a response to Family Is Culture findings and recommendations. Many have failed to embody the spirit or intent of the proposed reforms.

This reflects the lack of a definitive political commitment from the NSW Government to implement all 126 recommendations through a clear and resourced implementation plan developed in genuine partnership with Aboriginal communities, their community-controlled organisations and peak bodies.

Click the link below to read our full progress report.