Children the heart of the Closing the Gap, Thriving Kids, and more  – SNAICC in the News

This week has been an important one for A wrap of the important issues in the news this week. Queensland’s residential care crisis, The federal bill to establish a permanent National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Young People and Children, Women’s History Month, the retirement of Pat Turner AM and more. 

Here is a look at what’s been making news this week 9 to 13 March.  

Queensland’s Residential Care Crisis 

This week, a Courier Mail investigation laid bare Queensland’s residential care system is broken, and it is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who are paying the price. 

Our position is clear. Residential care is not a suitable placement for any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child.  

Under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, it is a last resort. Queensland has not just fallen short of that standard. It has built a billion-dollar system that treats residential care as the default. 

Queensland now has almost as many children in residential care as every other state and territory combined, at a cost of $1.12 billion a year, most of it going to for-profit providers. Of the 146 residential care providers in the state, 110 are unlicensed.  

With Queensland accounting for 42.6 per cent of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in residential care across the country, SNAICC is raising concerns about what this means for our children’s connection to culture, kin and community.  

We have also spoken out on the state governments child protection data, with an audit revealing that Queensland had failed to report child protection data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the national Report on Government Services.  

As Catherine Liddle said at the time

“It is inconceivable that a child protection department can reach a point where it cannot say how many children were in its care or what their experience of that system was when they are responsible for those children and their safety,”

Spending more on a system of last resort is not the answer. The answer is real investment in prevention, family support, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector: the services that keep children safe, in family, and connected to culture. 

Read our media release on Queensland’s missing child protection data here. 

Family Matters 2025 includes data from across the nation. You can read it here:

NSW Out-of-Home Care Overhaul: Putting Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations First 

The NSW Government has announced a major overhaul of the state’s out-of-home care system. It will wind down the Permanency Support Program, which outsourced child protection to non-government providers and move to an ACCOs-first model, where Aboriginal children are placed with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations wherever possible.   

SNAICC supports AbSec’s position that this is a move in the right direction, but more is needed for strong independent oversight to make sure accountability is built in from the start.  

The scale of the problem makes this reform urgent. Over the past decade, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care in NSW has risen by 48 per cent.  

NSW’s reunification rate sits at 15.2 per cent, the lowest in the country. 

These reforms go to the heart of what we documented in our Reviewing Implementation of the Child Placement Principle: NSW 2025 report, released in February.  

Community-controlled solutions are not an add-on to system reform. They are the foundation of it.

Read our Reviewing Implementation of the Child Placement Principle: NSW 2025 report here: 

$20 Million Early Learning Centre for Derby: Community-Led, Community-Owned 

After years of community-led campaigning, more than $20 million has been committed to a new early learning and family centre in Derby, in Western Australia’s Kimberley. 

It will be owned and run by Ngunga Group Women’s Aboriginal Corporation, bringing together early learning, playgroups, after-school and holiday programs, occasional care and family workshops in one place. 

SNAICC welcomed the investment as strong proof of what ACCO-led early childhood services can achieve. Catherine Liddle said: 

“By growing community-led early education and care, more children will have the chance to start strong in safe, nurturing and culturally grounded environments and more families will be connected to the support they need.”

NIT coverage here. 

Victorian Funding for Aboriginal-Led Wellbeing Programs: SNAICC Members Among Those Supported 

The National Indigenous Times reports that the Victorian Government has committed $6.3 million to expand Culture & Kinship programs across 15 Aboriginal organisations.  

The funding supports locally led programs including an Elders Choir, Cultural Memory and Return to Country, Youth Cultural and Diversionary Camps, Transferring Elders Knowledge, and Early Years Connection to Country. 

SNAICC members Yappera Children’s Service, Bubup Wilam, and Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Co-operative are among the organisations supported. 

As Catherine Liddle has said, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, “culture is an anchor that strengthens their sense of self and identity.”  

“When Aboriginal-led services are properly funded, children do better. This is what getting it right looks like. “

“Culture-based early childhood programs are not separate from health and wellbeing. They are health and wellbeing.”  

Federal Bill to Establish a Permanent National Commissioner 

The bill to make the National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People a permanent, independent body has continued to draw national attention since its introduction in February.  

If passed, it would give Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter the legal powers to hold governments to account, including the ability to conduct inquiries and make public recommendations. 

This is something SNAICC has advocated for over many years. Our CEO Catherine Liddle said when the bill was introduced: 

“With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children now ten times more likely to be in out-of-home care, and the connection between care and youth justice becoming clearer, this legislation could not arrive at a more critical time. Two years after the announcement of the role, this legislation ensures our children now have a fearless advocate who can act independently, with the authority of the law behind her.”

If passed and given royal assent, the National Commission would become a permanent organisation from 1 July 2026. 

Read SNAICC’s statement here: 

Acknowledging Pat Turner AM: A Legacy Built on Self-Determination 

This week, health and community leaders across the country paid tribute to Aunty Pat Turner AM following her retirement as CEO of NACCHO and Lead Convenor of the Coalition of Peaks.  

In reflecting on Pat Turner’s AM contribution, our CEO Catherine Liddle said:  

“Her unwavering commitment to our people and communities has driven the national conversation, strengthening the idea that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have both the right and capacity to lead their own futures.
Her work on the National Agreement, and her leadership on the Coalition of Peaks, has helped shape a better future for our children and their families, grounded in genuine partnership, shared decision-makingand accountability at the national level.
Thank you for your vision, courageand commitment towards building a better future for our mob.

SNAICC is a proud member of the Coalition of Peaks, and the progress that partnership has delivered reflects Pat’s vision and determination. 

We thank her for her vision, courage and commitment towards building a better future for our mob. 

Donnella Mills has been endorsed as the new Lead Convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, with SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle serving as co-convenor. SNAICC congratulates Donnella and looks forward to continuing this important work in partnership. 

Read the NIT tribute here: