SNAICC Submission to the Commissioner for Children and Young People (Victoria) Inquiry into the implementation of the Children, Youth and Families Amendment (Permanent Care and Other Matters) Act 2014 (Permanency Amendments Inquiry – November 2016

SNAICC – National Voice for our Children (SNAICC) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Commission for Children and Young People’s Inquiry into the Implementation of the Children, Youth and Families Amendment (Permanent Care and Other Matters) Act 2014 (Permanency Amendments Inquiry). We particularly welcome the timely call for and conduct of the inquiry six months after the permanency amendments were brought into effect. This inquiry is critical in the context of a Victorian child protection system with an increasing over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care. SNAICC is concerned that these children are at risk of permanent separation from their families, communities and cultures through the operation of the permanency amendments.