Reviewing Implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle Victoria 2021–23
Introduction
The Reviewing Implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle Victoria 2021–23 report reviews the progress of the Victorian Government, through the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), in implementing the full extent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (Child Placement Principle).
The five elements of the Child Placement Principle are: Prevention, Partnership, Placement, Participation and Connection.
The aim of the Child Placement Principle is to:
- embed an understanding that culture is integral to safety and wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people and is embedded in law, policy and practice
- recognise and protect the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, family members and communities in child safety matters
- support self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in child safety matters
- reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in child protection and out-of-home care (OOHC) systems.
This year’s review analyses implementation efforts over 1 July 2021 – 30 June 2023. Quantitative data for 2022–2023 are included where available. The qualitative analysis considers developments occurring to 30 June 2024.
The annual jurisdictional reviews are developed by SNAICC – National Voice for our Children (SNAICC) with input from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations (ACCOs) and state and territory governments. The reviews are informed by the best practice approach set out in SNAICC’s Understanding and Applying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, A Guide to Support Implementation, a 2018 baseline analysis and subsequent annual reviews undertaken by SNAICC.
Quantitative and qualitative analysis is used to measure and review jurisdictions’ progress against the five elements and across five interrelated systems elements—legislation, policy, programs, processes and practice.
Quantitative data is taken primarily from the 2024 Report on Government Services (ROGS) Chapter 16 – Child Protection (SCRGSP 2024), the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Child Protection Australia 2022–23 report (AIHW 2024a), and the AIHW Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle Indicators 2021–22 report (AIHW, 2024). OOHC figures in this review comprise ‘out-of-home care’ and ‘third-party parental responsibility orders’ from the AIHW report or, where indicated, ‘out-of-home care’ and other supported placement data from ROGS. Data on ‘children of unknown Indigenous status in out-of-home care’ have not been included in this review’s figures, where relevant.
These reviews arise from Safe and Supported: the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021–2031 (Safe and Supported). These reviews map implementation progress and gaps across Australia, highlight governments’ reform successes and hold governments accountable to their efforts—or lack thereof—in achieving better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families. In this way, these reviews align with the priority reform areas of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (National Agreement), including Priority Reform 4 on improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ access to data that affects them and their communities.