Western Australia launches Indigenous healing service for children affected by family violence

The Western Australian government has awarded a contract to Koya Aboriginal Corporation to deliver a new Indigenous Healing Service for Aboriginal children and young people affected by family violence in Perth’s north-eastern suburbs.

The Midland-based service will provide culturally grounded support for Aboriginal children and young people up to the age of 24 who have been impacted by family and domestic violence. It is part of an $8.2 million package to deliver therapeutic support for young people across the state.

The service will use an Aboriginal-led model of care including healing activities such as art, storytelling, movement, cultural mentoring, and on-Country experiences to support recovery. The aim is to help children and young people feel safe, connected, and supported.

Koya Aboriginal Corporation is a well-regarded Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation that provides a range of supports for young Aboriginal people in Perth’s north-east and south-west metropolitan areas.

The Indigenous Healing Service model recognises that Aboriginal children, young people, and families experience disproportionately high levels of family violence with devastating impacts on their health and wellbeing.

The initiative forms part of the Cook Government’s Strengthening Responses to Family and Domestic Violence: System Reform Plan 2024 to 2029 which identifies the need for specialist responses for victim-survivors and more opportunities to enhance case coordination.

Family and domestic violence remains one of the most pressing issues facing First Nations communities across Australia. The federal government’s 2026 Closing the Gap Implementation Plan also committed $218.3 million to a new 10-year national plan to end family, domestic, and sexual violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children.

The WA announcement comes as governments at all levels face growing calls to invest in prevention-focused and culturally safe services that centre First Nations knowledge and community-controlled organisations in the delivery of care.