A new edition of Family Matters has renewed calls for governments to shift child protection funding toward prevention and early support, arguing the current system remains heavily weighted toward crisis responses.
SNAICC – National Voice for our Children reports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 9.6× more likely to be in out-of-home care or on third‑party parental responsibility orders than non‑Indigenous children. It also reports only 15.6% of total child protection expenditure is spent on family support services – “roughly 16 cents of every $1” invested in prevention.
Nationally (excluding Western Australia), SNAICC reports only 6.8% of child protection spending was directed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community‑controlled organisations.
The ABC’s reporting on the report likewise states that 15.6% of government child protection spending in 2023–24 went to “family support” services, and quotes SNAICC chief executive Catherine Liddle urging a reset: “Invest in families, not crisis.”
Separately, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that as at 30 June 2024, 44,900 children were in out‑of‑home care, including 20,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (reported as 50 per 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children).
SNAICC says the findings show Australia remains “far from achieving” Closing the Gap Target 12, which aims to reduce the rate of over‑representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out‑of‑home care by 45% by 2031.
In regional NSW, the challenge is not abstract. The 2021 Census recorded 8,032 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people (12.7%) in the Tamworth Regional local government area.
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