Child protection Australia 2023–24

The ATSICPP states that the decision to place a child in out-of-home care can only be made after all Active Efforts to keep a child safely at home have been exhausted (SNAICC 2019).

The national definition of out-of-home care includes overnight care for children aged under 18 who are unable to live with their families due to child safety concerns, and where the carer receives a financial payment. However, all states and territories continue to fund carers of children on third-party parental responsibility orders and some (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory) continue to provide some level of case management. The national definition of out-of-home care generally excludes children on third-party responsibility orders as the Minister or executive no longer has guardianship of children on these orders. Refer to the Out-of-home care section of CPA 2023–24: Insights and Appendices for more information on out-of-home care and third-party parental responsibility orders.

How many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were in out-of-home care?

At 30 June 2024, around 20,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were in out-of-home care.

Of these children:

• 45% (8,900) were living in major cities.
• Those under one year had the lowest rate of 21 per 1,000 children in out-of-home care. Children aged 10–14 years had the highest rate of 58 per 1,000, followed by children aged 5–9 with a rate of 57 per 1,000.

Sources: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data tables S5.5 and S5.9

Around 4,400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were admitted to out-of-home care in 2023–24. The admission rate was highest for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under 1 year of age, at 33 per 1,000 children, compared with 12 per 1,000 or less for other age groups.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data table S5.1

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in long-term out-of-home care

At 30 June 2024, almost three quarters (71% or 14,100) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care had been continuously in care for 2 years or more; this is known as long-term care. Of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in long-term care:

• 10–14 year-olds had the highest rate at 47 per 1,000 (5,200), followed by 5–9 years at 44 per 1,000 (4,700).
• 41% (5,800) were on a long-term guardianship order in a relative/kinship care arrangement, followed by 32% (4,600) who were on a long-term guardianship order in a foster care arrangement.

Sources: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data tables S5.14, S5.15 and S5.16

Placement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care

Where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are placed in out-of-home care, the ATSICPP identifies a placement hierarchy that seeks to maintain as high a level of connection as possible to family and culture (SNAICC 2017). For the highest level of connection to family and culture children should be placed with their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives or kin, or non-Indigenous relatives. Of the 20,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care:

• Around 10,900 (55%) were placed with their relatives or kin.
  • Of these, most children were placed with a grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling as their carer (6,300 or 58%).
• Around 1,700 (8.6%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were placed with a non-relative Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander caregiver.

Sources: CPA 2023–24: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, data tables 10.4 and 10.7

Placement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children on third-party orders

The national definition for out-of-home care excludes children on third-party parental responsibility orders, as the Minister or executive no longer has guardianship of children on these orders. However, as these children are not residing at home, it is important to consider their placements through the lens of the ATSICPP (SNAICC 2023). Of the 3,800 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children on third-party orders at 30 June 2024:

• 45% (1,700) were living with non-Indigenous relatives or kin.
• Around one-quarter (26% or 990) were living with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives or kin.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, data table 10.3

More detailed information on the placement hierarchy can be found in The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle: A guide to support implementation.

The ATSICPP also highlights the importance of children being placed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives and kin as soon as possible if they are placed in out-of-home care (SNAICC 2017). Of the 4,400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children admitted to out-of-home care in 2023–24, 25% (1,100) were placed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives or kin in their first out-of-home care placement.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, data table 10.6

Reconnection to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives and kin through placement change

Where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children cannot initially be placed with their relatives or kin, the ATSICPP emphasises the importance of reconnecting children with family, community, culture and country through a change in placement where it is in the best interest of the child (SNAICC 2017).

In 2023–24, 5,400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children experienced more than one placement in an out-of-home care episode. Of these:

• Around 1,300 (23%) children were either reconnected with or stayed connected to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives or kin through their last placement change in 2023–24.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, data table 10.9

In 2023–24, around 4,900 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children had more than one placement in an out-of-home care episode and it was possible to determine whether they were reconnected though a placement change (this excludes children who stayed connected and children with an unknown placement type that may have been either reconnected or stayed connected). Of these:

• About 700 (15%) children were reconnected with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives or kin through their last placement change in 2023–24.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, data table 10.9

It is important for the wellbeing of children and young people in out-of-home care to have stability after a placement change. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, this includes connection to family, community, culture and country (SNAICC 2017).

Around 600 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 0–16 years were reconnected to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives or kin through a placement change in 2022–23* and remained in out-of-home care for at least 12 months. Of these:

• 505 (84%) remained with the same Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives or kin for at least 12 months
• 530 (88%) remained with any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives or kin for at least 12 months.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, data table 10.10

*These data are from the 2023–24 data collection. The collection covers a two-year period that allows reporting for events beginning in 2022–23 with a 12-month follow-up period.

Timely and appropriate reconnection

The ATSICPP emphasises the importance of moving children from placements lower in the placement hierarchy to a placement with greater connection to their culture and family, where it is safe and in a timely manner (SNAICC 2017).

Of the 2,100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 0–16 years whose first placement was not with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives or kin and who remained in out-of-home care for at least 12 months, 390 (19%) were reconnected with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relatives or kin within 12 months.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, data table 10.11

Placement with siblings in out-of-home care

As well as having carers who are relatives or kin, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children should be placed with their siblings where possible to keep strong relationships and support connection to family (SNAICC 2017). Factors such as safety and carer availability may impact the ability for child protection agencies to place children with their siblings. In 2023–24, of the 14,900 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who had at least one known sibling in out-of-home care, 10,100 (68%) were placed with at least one of their siblings.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, data table 10.8

Maintaining and supporting connections for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care

The connection element of the ATSICPP relates to support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care to maintain or re-establish connections to their family, community, culture and country (SNAICC 2017).

Cultural plans include details such as a child’s cultural background and actions taken to maintain their connection to culture (SNAICC 2019). At 30 June 2024, of the 17,500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care who were required to have a cultural support plan, 82% (14,400) had a current cultural support plan. Since 2017 there has been an increase of around 5,800 children with a current cultural support plan. It should be noted that the data do not provide information on the quality of the cultural support plan, or whether it was implemented.

Source: CPA 2022–23: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, data table 10.5

Has the number of children in out-of-home care changed over time?

Between 2020 and 2024, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care increased from around 18,900 to around 20,000 children. In 2024, rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care were 11 times higher than non-Indigenous children, an increase from 9.6 times higher in 2020.*

Source: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data table T2

*These data use the Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) June 2024 update of estimated resident population data based on the 2021 ABS Census of Population and Housing. For more information on changes to populations resulting from the 2021 ABS Census, please see Child Protection Australia 2023–24: Technical notes.

From 2019–20 to 2023–24, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children entering out-of-home care each year fluctuated from between 4,000 to around 4,600 children.

Source: CPA 2023–24: Insights, data table S5.17