Family Matters Report 2024

Family Matters – Strong communities. Strong culture. Stronger children. is an annual publication that tracks progress towards ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people grow up safe, cared for and connected to their families, communities and culture. A key goal is to eliminate the over–representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care by 2040. 

Family Matters Report 2024 finds that child protection systems continue to fail Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, exposing them to ongoing harm and trauma. The data shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are grossly over-represented at every stage of the child protection system and that we are still a long way off from meeting Target 12 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap to reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children entering the out-of-home care system.  

The key findings of Family Matters Report 2024 include: 

• 22,908 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care, which represents 41% of all children in out-of-home care, despite Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children making up only 6% of the total child population in Australia
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 10.8 times more likely to be in out-of-home care than non-Indigenous children
• among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care: 
  • 41% are living with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives or carers:
    • 32.2% with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives 
    • 22.1% with non-Indigenous relatives
    • 8.9% with other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carers 
    • 26.9% with non-Indigenous non-relative carers 
    • 9% in residential care
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 11.5 times more likely to be removed into out-of-home care as infants 
• only 15% of government funding is spent on prevention, such as Family Support Services, the rest is spent on child protection and out-of-home care services 
• only 6% of child protection funding is directed towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations. 

A key focus of the Family Matters Report 2024 is the need for increased support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled services, with the report calling for increased funding for ACCO-led prevention programs. When our children interact with the child protection system, we must ensure they engage with and receive support from Aboriginal community-controlled services. To achieve this, the report calls on non-Indigenous non-government organisations to assist in the transition of service delivery to Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, ensuring our children can access the support they need. The report features three case studies from community-controlled organisations that effectively demonstrate the impact Aboriginal-led culturally safe wraparound services have on ensuring our children grow up strong in family and connected to culture and kin.  

Family Matters Report 2024 recommendations include: 

• increase funding for ACCO-led prevention programs and establish national integrated early years services, ensuring families have access to quality, culturally safe supports 
• empower communities to control decisions affecting children by directing funding to ACCOs and implementing family-led decision-making models 
• end the adoption of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from out-of-home care and implement national standards for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle 
• improve accountability by creating peak bodies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in decision-making, establishing commissioners for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and improving data practices to better meet the needs of communities. 

The Family Matters Report 2024 calls on all governments—in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples—to implement the recommendations presented in the report to ensure that our children grow up safe and cared for in family, community and culture, and connected to language and Country.