Reviewing Implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle Victoria 2025
Executive Summary
Reviewing Implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle Victoria 2025 reviews the progress of the Victorian Government, primarily through the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), towards implementing the full intent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (the Child Placement Principle). Recent changes in law, policy and practice are examined, with a focus on the five interrelated elements of the Child Placement Principle: Prevention, Partnership, Placement, Participation and Connection.
Data highlights persistent challenges. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children remain disproportionately represented in out-of-home care (OOHC), making up 25.7% of Victoria’s OOHC population, despite representing just 2.2% of the child population. In 2023-24, Victoria recorded the highest national rates for both OOHC entry and exit among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, underscoring the continued disparities in child protection outcomes. During 2022-23 in Victoria, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children made up 24% of children in OOHC and 14% of substantiated claims of abuse or neglect (SNAICC, 2024). Despite this, only 7.4% of child protection funding was invested in ACCOs (SNAICC, 2024).
The high rates of over-representation and the limited funding for ACCO-led prevention services reflect an insufficient emphasis on the prevention and partnership elements of the Child Placement Principle. While the Child Placement Principle has been embedded in legislation through the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic), progress toward its practical application has been uneven, with significant barriers such as under-resourcing, systemic racism and discrimination undermining effective implementation and the commitment in legislation.
Key advancements include the expanding role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations (ACCOs) in administering the Aboriginal Children in Aboriginal Care (ACAC) program and the 2024-25 State Budget’s $272 million commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ self-determination initiatives, such as funding for justice system interventions and culturally grounded kinship support programs. These efforts signal important steps toward enabling community-led approaches to child welfare and cultural preservation, in accordance with the five elements of the Child Placement Principle. These successes are reflected in Victoria having the highest reunification rates in the country. In 2021-22, 24% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Victorian OOHC exited to reunification, far above the national rate of 7.5%.
The Victorian Government’s commitment to Target 12 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (the National Agreement), which aims to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in OOHC by 45% by 2031, is informed by the Child Placement Principle, which aims to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in OOHC maintain connections to their family, community, culture, and Country, promoting their wellbeing and resilience. Further, the government’s partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders under Safe and Supported: the National Framework For Protecting Australia’s Children (Safe and Supported) includes a commitment to implementing the Child Placement Principle to the standard of active efforts across legislation, policy, programs, processes and practice.
To enhance implementation of the Child Placement Principle, the Victorian Government must address critical gaps by fully aligning with expert recommendations, including raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14, adopting the Yoorrook for Justice Report’s proposed systemic reforms, and shifting to more flexible and community-led funding frameworks that empower ACCOs and promote genuine self-determination. Without these urgent measures, the vision of ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children grow up within their families, communities and cultures will remain unfulfilled.
Please note: We have updated the way our reviews are structured. Previously, reviews were categorised by specific review periods. They are now titled by year and include all relevant developments up to that point in time. This change provides a clearer, more comprehensive snapshot of progress and updates within each release year.