Victorian judges and child protection workers will have to consider the past mistreatment of Aboriginal families when dealing with cases involving Indigenous children, under an Australian-first bill to be introduced to parliament.
The children and health legislation amendment (statement of recognition, Aboriginal self-determination and other matters) bill will be introduced to parliament on Tuesday after it lapsed last year due to the state election.
The bill had the support of the Coalition and the Greens at the time, meaning the new iteration will probably pass parliament in the coming weeks.
Under the proposed law, organisations such as the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency will be empowered to investigate child protection cases and connect families with support before a court order is made.
It is hoped this early intervention and culturally grounded support will reduce the number of Aboriginal children entering care in Victoria.
Also included in the bill is an Australian-first statement of recognition that acknowledges the past wrongs and mistreatment of Aboriginal people by government institutions. Judges, child protection workers and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing will be required to consider this when dealing with cases. The government has described the move as “self-determination in action”.
The chief executive of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency, Muriel Bamblett, welcomed the reintroduction of the bill.
“The proposed bill enables us to not just stop the cycle of higher rates of Aboriginal child removal, it will also help address the cycle of family violence. Strengthening the whole family is the only way forward,” she said.
“The proposed laws represent what can be achieved when Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations work with their communities to demand better outcomes for children and families – and the government actively takes up the challenge and commits to self-determination.”
Victoria’s minister for child protection and family services, Lizzie Blandthorn, said the legislation was an important step towards meeting the Closing the Gap target of reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal children in care by 45% by 2031.
“This important legislation will help close the gap by expanding the role of Aboriginal agencies in delivering children and family services,” she said.
According to the latest figures, one in nine Aboriginal babies aged under one are taken from their parents by the state in Victoria, more than double the national average. In all, one in 10 Aboriginal youth are in care, and one in three are known to child protection services.
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An auditor general’s report into the state’s kinship care system, tabled in parliament last year, found Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were 20 times more likely to be in kinship care than non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
A 2019 report commissioned by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing found 56% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were placed with a non-Aboriginal carer, while more than half were separated from their siblings.
The premier, Daniel Andrews, vowed to overhaul the state’s child protection system after the state election. At this stage it is unclear if this will involve reintroducing the children, youth and families amendment (child protection) bill, which also lapsed last term after it stalled in the upper house.
It is believed the government did not want to debate the bill after the Greens introduced an amendment to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14. Andrews has since indicated he is willing to abandon a national process to raise the age and go it alone.
A separate Greens bill to raise the age will also be debated in parliament on Wednesday but will unlikely go to a vote until the next sitting week.