Introduction and policy landscape
Key findings
- 85% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were reunified with their family in 2022–23 did not return to out-of-home care in 2023–24.
- In 2023–24, when entering out-of-home care, 47% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were placed with relatives or kin, an increase from 45% in 2019–20.
- In 2023–24, 68% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who had siblings in out-of-home care were placed with at least one of their siblings.
- In 2023–24, 35% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children leaving out-of-home care were reunified with their family.
Ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are safe from harm and are able to thrive by remaining connected to their family, community and culture is a key focus of governments and community leaders. In 2023–24, about 57,800 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children came into contact with child protection systems.
Source: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data table S2.3
In December 2021, Safe and Supported: the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021–2031 (Safe and Supported) was released, with the Action Plans launched in January 2023 (DSS 2022). Safe and Supported was developed, and continues to be driven, by shared decision-making between the Commonwealth, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, state and territory governments and collaboratively with the non-government sector. Safe and Supported’s vision is for children in Australia to reach their full potential by growing up safe and supported, free from harm and neglect. Safe and Supported is an important strategy in making progress towards Target 12 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap which aims to reduce the rate of over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care by 45% of the 2019 rate by 2031.
Through the advocacy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), the Commonwealth and state and territory governments committed to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP) in the previous National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009–2020 (AIFS 2022; DSS 2021; SNAICC 2017), and the ATSICPP continues to be of critical importance in Safe and Supported. The Placement Principle is centred on the five elements of Prevention, Partnership, Placement, Participation and Connection. State and territory government agencies responsible for child protection services are continuing to work towards implementing all five elements of the ATSICPP in legislation, policy, practice, programs and accountability frameworks.
The scope and source of the data in this report may differ from those published by different organisations. Therefore, direct comparisons cannot be made between the data included in this report and data included in other reports.
AIFS (Australian Institute of Family Studies) (2022) Australian child protection legislation, AIFS, accessed 23 May 2025.
DSS (Department of Social Services) (2021) The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021–2031 | Department of Social Services, Australian Government (dss.gov.au), DSS, accessed 19 August 2025.
DSS (2022) Safe and Supported: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Action Plan 2023–2026 | Department of Social Services, Australian Government (dss.gov.au), DSS, accessed 23 May 2025.
SNAICC National Voice for our Children (2017) Understanding and applying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle: a resource for legislation, policy, and program development, SNAICC, accessed 23 May 2025.