Family Matters, Australia’s national campaign to reduce the over-representation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care, welcomes the recent support from Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Speaking in Parliament as the Prime Minister released the 2017 Closing the Gap report, Mr Shorten called for a “new priority on stronger families”, pledging to listen to and work with […]

Australia’s leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peaks will today demand a new relationship with government as they deliver the historic Redfern Statement direct to the Prime Minister at Parliament House. In the lead up to today’s 9th Closing the Gap Report to Parliament, the leaders will call on the Prime Minister to support the […]

Family Matters welcomes the adoption of all seven recommendations outlined in yesterday’s report on children and young people in out-of-home care by Tasmanian Commissioner for Children & Young People Mark Morrissey – a show of genuine commitment to improving standards and outcomes for Tasmania’s most vulnerable children. In particular, Family Matters welcomes the prioritisation of […]

Family Matters is disappointed that today’s Report on Government Services (RoGS) again shows increased numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children removed by child protection authorities. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are now 9.8 times more likely to be placed in out-of-home care than their non-Indigenous peers (increasing from 9.5 times in the […]

The Queensland Government Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services has today released new quarterly child safety performance data, showing some operational improvements but still significant over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home-care. Reflecting records for the past 12 months (to 30 September 2016) the data shows key improvements in both […]