Know Your Rights: Support and Information for Aboriginal Families Navigating the NSW Child Protection System

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in contact with the child protection system deserve clear information, strong support and access to their rights.

If you or someone you know is in contact with the NSW child protection system, the Know Your Rights website provides practical guidance to help families stay informed about child protection system processes, prepare for what may come next and stay connected to their child.

Support and information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families across the New South Wales child protection system

Know Your Rights has been created by mob, for mob. It is a dedicated online resource for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents, carers, family members, community members, workers and advocates navigating the NSW child protection system.

The website has been built with lived and living experience, practical tools and clear information about what families can expect at different stages of the child protection system. It recognises the strength and knowledge that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, kin and communities hold, and provides culturally safe, practical and empowering information so families are better able to understand their rights, advocate for their children and make informed decisions.

For families, involvement with the child protection system can be overwhelming, confusing and isolating.
Families in contact with the child protection system are often required to make serious decisions while navigating complex systems, unclear processes and significant stress.

Know Your Rights responds to the need for accessible, community-led information. In New South Wales, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are disproportionately over-represented across all stages of the child protection system and in out-of-home care. Many families report feeling under-informed and unsupported when engaging with the system.

The website provides information and resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families across key stages of the New South Wales child protection system, including:

• when a child may be removed
• when a child has been removed
• when families are working toward bringing a child home
• how to support children to stay connected to family, kin, community and culture

Structuring the website in this way makes it easier for families to find information relevant to where they are, what may happen next and what supports, rights and options may be available to them.

Who developed the Know Your Rights website?

The idea for Know Your Rights came from Waminda South Coast Women’s Health and Welfare Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal community-controlled organisation supporting the health, wellbeing and empowerment of Aboriginal women and families on the South Coast of New South Wales. It was developed through a collaboration between AbSec, the peak body for Aboriginal child and family services in NSW that advocates for the rights of Aboriginal children, young people and families, and the Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research initiative at the UNSW Social Policy Research Centre, which focuses on strengthening outcomes for Aboriginal children and families through evidence, policy and community-led research.

While SNAICC – National Voice for our Children was not directly involved in the development of the Know Your Rights resource, we recognise and support the leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations in this work. Both Waminda and AbSec are valued SNAICC members, and we are proud to share and promote Know Your Rights as a trusted, community-led resource.

What else can families find on the Know Your Rights website?

The Know Your Rights website has practical tools and information to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families understand what is happening, what questions to ask and what support may be available.

Families can access:

• information guides on common child protection system processes and decisions
• flowcharts to help make sense of what may happen next
• videos and scripts sharing stories, advice and practical information
• journals and evidence tools, including My Evidence, My Way, to help families keep track of meetings, timelines and important information, and
• information about legal rights under NSW law and child protection policies throughout the website.

Support that families can return to when they need it

A key strength of Know Your Rights is that families do not need to read everything at once.

The website is designed so families, community members, workers and advocates can return to the information most relevant to their situation when they need it. The site also reinforces the importance of seeking independent legal advice and support, particularly where there is a risk a child may be removed or where the NSW Department of Communities and Justice is already involved.

The website recognises that every family’s situation is different, and that what works for one family may not work for another.