New child protection legislation passed by SA Government & Living Black investigation into NT Youth Justice – SNAICC in the News
The South Australian Government has passed new child protection legislation this week aimed at ‘strengthening children’s voices’ and ‘prioritising family reunification where possible’. However, advocates say the reforms still fall short of what is truly needed.
During a late-night sitting on Tuesday, 3 June, the Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Bill passed the upper house, having previously passed the lower house in November 2024. With support from The Greens MLC Robert Simms and Independent MLC Frank Pangallo, the SA Government secured the numbers required to pass the bill—despite concerns from advocates that the reforms do not meet international standards, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
SA Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard told the ABC the legislation ‘elevates children’s voices in decisions about their lives’ and places strong emphasis on ‘reunifying children with their families’ when it is safe and appropriate. She said the legislation ‘enshrines a safety principle’, ensuring that child safety remains the priority in decisions around removing children or young people from their families. The legislation, according to the SA Government, ’empowers’ Aboriginal families to lead decision-making and expands the family group conferencing program. Minister Hildyard said the changes reflect the need to delegate authority to Aboriginal families and community-controlled organisations, and that the law will allow children and young people to have more say in decisions about their lives. She said that, in response to community feedback, one amendment ensures young people are able to see their siblings when it is ‘safe for them to do so.’
SNAICC – National Voice for our Children welcomed the new child protection legislation as a positive step, but says urgent action is still needed to address the systemic harms facing Aboriginal children and families. Arrernte and Luritja woman and SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle said that while the Bill may bring some improvements, South Australia’s child protection system remains in urgent need of full reform—one that truly embeds self-determination and empowers Aboriginal communities. The 2024 Family Matters Report highlighted that between 2019 and 2023, South Australia recorded the highest national increase in Aboriginal children in out-of-home care, rising by 33.5 per cent. The report also showed that just 9.8 per cent of child and family support funding was invested in Aboriginal community-controlled services—among the lowest in the country. Catherine welcomed the strengthening of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, noting that in states like Victoria, investment in the principle has led to more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children being placed with kin and increased chances of reunification with birth parents. She said, however, that serious harm continues within the system, and called for a greater focus on transitioning out-of-home care services to Aboriginal community-controlled organisations. Increased investment in early intervention and family-strengthening programs is critical to prevent children from entering care in the first place.
Mirning and Kokatha woman and former SA Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, April Lawrie, told the ABC the legislation does not go far enough. She described the changes as an administrative arrangement for contact, dressed up as culturally appropriate and supportive of self-determination, while actual power remains with the state. She said the legislation is not good enough and fails to reflect the evidence presented in the Holding on to Our Future inquiry, tabled in Parliament in June 2024. Catherine Liddle agrees, saying that if the government were serious about making the system safer for Aboriginal children, they would move urgently to implement the inquiry’s recommendations on removal and placement practices. She said that despite what the system claims to do, it continues to separate children from families while failing in its core responsibility—to support and keep families together and children safe.
South Australia’s Guardian for Children and Young People, Shona Reid, told the ABC that the new child protection legislation does not align with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which requires that children’s best interests be promoted above all else. Reid said the legislation misses the opportunity to fully uphold that standard and that South Australia still has work to do in meeting its international obligations. While critical of the bill’s shortcomings, she acknowledged that amendments have elevated children’s voices and affirmed her belief that child protection workers do have children’s best interests at heart.
April Lawrie said the Holding on to Our Future inquiry disrupted the government’s original approach to Aboriginal child protection. She said that the way self-determination appears in the legislation serves more to reassure the state than to actually listen to Aboriginal people. Lawrie raised ongoing concerns about legislative provisions that place the burden on parents to contest guardianship transfers, despite families often lacking the legal resources to do so. She noted cases where Aboriginal children have had guardianship transferred to non-Aboriginal people—what she called ‘pseudo-adoption’—and said that South Australia should have learned from the past.
Kaurna, Narungga, Ngadjuri and Ngarrindjeri man and current SA Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, Dale Agius, supported Lawrie’s position and expressed concern that the legislation could further increase the already high over-representation of Aboriginal children in the system. He said the legislation will be closely monitored to ensure it does not lead to unintended consequences that unfairly affect Aboriginal families. According to NIT, Agius stressed that genuine reform would require more than legislation alone, saying it must be supported by early intervention, true partnership with Aboriginal communities in all aspects of decision-making, and care pathways that are fair and culturally safe.
Find our Media Release linked below.
Read our Media ReleaseLiving Black investigation into the Northern Territory Youth Justice system
A new investigation by Living Black broadcast this week has revealed severe abuse, neglect and systemic failings in the Northern Territory’s youth justice system.
In episode Just Kids, which aired Monday 2 June, Western Arrernte woman Karla Grant speaks directly with young Aboriginal people about their experiences in youth detention, examining the impact of the NT Government’s increasingly punitive justice policies on children and community. The young people describe a system that offers little to no opportunity for rehabilitation. Thirteen-year-old Anthony struggles to express the trauma he’s endured, describing the overwhelming stress of life in detention and a system that, in his words, offers only ‘poisoned programs’—punitive responses dressed up as support, with no space for second chances. Seventeen-year-old Cyrus shared a similar experience. Detained from the age of 12, he recounts increasingly harsh conditions, being subjected to physical force over minor issues and once being told to drink water from a toilet. Other detainees told similar stories of alleged racism, neglect and degrading treatment. While the Department of Corrections denies such conditions—stating that water is always accessible and that toilets are separated from sinks in newer facilities—concerns persist, particularly about the state of older centres.
These conditions reflect findings of the 2016 Don Dale Royal Commission, which was launched after public outcry over the abuse of children in detention and called for a therapeutic, child-focused model of justice. But almost a decade later, NT Children’s Commissioner Shahleena Musk says many of the same issues persist in 2025. Rather than progress, there is growing evidence of regression. Programs once designed to keep children out of detention—like Back on Track and Community Youth Diversion—are being defunded or dismantled. In their place, the NT Government has reintroduced punitive measures; reinstating spit hoods, lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 10 and investing in boot camps over community-led solutions. Remand times are increasing; bail is harder to access and despite more than $1.5 billion being spent nationally on youth justice last year—including $1 billion on detention—the outcomes are only deteriorating.
SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle is among the many advocates demanding urgent reform, calling on governments to step up, pick children up and care for them—not pick them up and kick them like they are a political football. In the episode, Catherine delivers a clear message; ‘what we’re seeing at this moment is a system failure; what we’re seeing at this moment is horrific policy failures.’ She says it is already known that jailing children is failing children; and asks, ‘if we all know that and the evidence is clear; if we all know that there’s been inquiry after inquiry after inquiry, report after report, then why aren’t we getting anywhere?’ SNAICC is calling for a national plan for youth justice, co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Catherine said that real reform requires governments to stop playing politics and start working with community-controlled organisations to deliver early intervention, wraparound care and culturally safe alternatives to incarceration.
In early 2025, a Senate inquiry—triggered by the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Help Way Earlier report—revealed distressing circumstances, including that of a child mauled by a police dog. Its findings reinforced the need for coordinated federal leadership. In April, a complaint was lodged with the United Nations, citing systemic racial discrimination and human rights violations. Despite countless inquiries—from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody to Don Dale—governments continue to ignore evidence-based solutions.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities continue to lead the way in building a better future for children. Community-controlled organisations are already delivering solutions that prioritise healing, identity and connection to culture. Catherine Liddle says a national plan will bring everyone together—working with community-controlled organisations, working with communities themselves, and most importantly, working with children to ask: what do we need to be working on together? Catherine calls on governments to invest in early intervention, wrapping children with the care and nurture they need, and enabling communities to shape the support that works for them. She says that a national plan, co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities, offers a real opportunity to transform the system and ensure every child grows up safe, supported and strong in their culture.