The Family Matters Campaign seeks to achieve the following high level goals in 2019:
1. Ensuring the effective operation of the Family Matters Campaign by:
- Re-establishing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership group as a collective model
- Securing $400,000 funding for 2019-2020, including $150,000 through sponsorships to ensure the Campaign is sustainable and well-resourced to achieve its core objectives
- Proactively engaging all campaign members and ambassadors and ensuring they are aware of how they can best support the Campaign
2. Deepening accountability of all Campaign partners – “walking the talk”- by:
- Developing an audit tool to measure Campaign members’ compliance with the Family Matters Statement of Commitment
3. Progressing political solutions – walking with governments- by:
- Securing support of key federal, and state and territory Ministers for key political asks, particularly ahead of the federal election in the first half of 2019
- Securing bipartisan support for and start co-designing a national, resourced strategy to redress over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care
- Ensuring the Closing the Gap targets reflect Family Matter’s key asks, commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander oversight and federal government leadership
- Advocating for the establishment of new independent and empowered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioners and/or peak bodies in at least two states/territories or at the federal level
- Producing a quality Family Matters Report 2019 that is sustained as the authoritative Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-led report on outcomes and supports for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
- Progressing opportunities for individual advocacy to create systemic change
4. Increasing the public visibility of the Campaign by:
- Executing a strong National Week of Action with at least 80 events across Australia that increase awareness of: the Family Matters Campaign, the drivers of over-representation, and the solutions
5. Supporting state and territory work- with a focus on community level engagement- by:
- Supporting effective operation of existing Jurisdictional Working Groups to progress jurisdictional plans for legislative, policy and practice change to reduce over-representation
- Establish a Working Group in Victoria and explore development in the ACT, NT and Tas.
- Promoting a community level engagement plan in existing Jurisdictional Working Groups.