NDIA Accountability Project

Submission to the NSW Select Committee on foundational and disability supports for children and young people in New South Wales

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Submission No 91

INQUIRY INTO FOUNDATIONAL AND DISABILITY SUPPORTS AVAILABLE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN NEW SOUTH WALES

Organisation: AbSec Date Received: 10 August 2026

Submission to the NSW Select Committee on foundational and disability supports for children and young people in New South Wales

28 July 2026

Acknowledgement of Country

AbSec acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout New South Wales and their continuing connections to land, waters, and communities. Our head office is located on the land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, in Redfern, and AbSec operates statewide.

We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of all lands and waters across New South Wales, honouring Elders past, present, and future.

We recognise and respect their enduring connection to Country, their ongoing care for community, and the preservation and practice of their culture for generations uncounted.

We acknowledge the Elders, leaders and advocates within our sector and pay our respects to them as knowledge holders within this space and every space.

AbSec also acknowledge the Stolen Generations who never came home and the ongoing impact of government policy and practice on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and families.

AbSec is the peak organisation advocating for the rights, safety, and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people, families, and communities in New South Wales (NSW).

As an Aboriginal-led organisation, we champion self-determination and work towards a child and family system that is culturally safe, community-driven, and responsive to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

AbSec leads policy reform, strengthens the capacity of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), and ensures that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people remain connected to family, community, and culture. We are a key member of the NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations (NSW CAPO) and the primary organisation responsible for Target 12 under Closing the Gap.

Through advocacy, research, and sector leadership, AbSec works to address the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care (OOHC) and promote holistic, community-led approaches to child and family wellbeing. Our commitment is to ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people grow up strong in culture, identity, and connection.

Our vision is that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people are looked after in safe, thriving families and communities, raised strong in spirit and identity, with every opportunity for lifelong wellbeing and connection to culture, and surrounded by holistic supports.

In working towards this vision, we are guided by these principles:

  • acknowledging and respecting the diversity and knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
  • acting with professionalism and integrity in striving for quality, culturally responsive services and supports for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities
  • underpinning the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to develop our own processes and systems for our communities, particularly in meeting the needs of our children, young people, families and carers
  • being holistic, integrated and solutions-focused through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander control in delivering outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people, families and communities
  • committing to a future that empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities, representing our communities, and the agencies there to serve them, with transparency and drive.

Contents

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Terms of Reference

  1. That a select committee be established to inquire into and report on child development, early childhood intervention services and other foundational and disability supports available for children and young people with developmental concerns, delays, differences or disabilities in New South Wales, and in particular:

(a) the role of such services and supports on a child’s overall development, health and wellbeing

(b) the types of services and supports available and measures to improve effectiveness, availability and access of such services and supports in metropolitan, regional, rural and remote New South Wales, including medical, community-nursing, allied health services, NDIS services and other service delivery models

(c) the role of diagnostic services, existing gaps and barriers, and measures to improve effectiveness, availability and access of such services

(d) gaps and barriers to accessing early childhood intervention and their impact on a child’s overall development, health and wellbeing, as well as on their family or carers and other government services and systems

(e) opportunities to increase engagement across sectors and improved collaboration across both government and non-government services, including Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations, early learning services, educational settings and health services

(f) other government or best practice child development and early childhood intervention service models and programs operating outside of New South Wales

(g) workforce issues in the child development and early childhood intervention sectors, including workforce demand and the availability, quality and capacity of existing workers,

h) measures to implement recommendations of the NDIS Review Final Report and the Disability Royal Commission Final Report in relation to foundational supports

(i) and, and any other related matter.

  1. That the committee report by 24 December 2026.1

1 The original reporting date was 31 October 2025 (Minutes, NSW Legislative Council, 23 October 2024, item 21). The reporting date was later extended to 29 May 2026 (Minutes, NSW Legislative Council, 4 June 2025, item 4). The reporting date was later extended to 24 December 2026 (Minutes, NSW Legislative Council, 15 October 2025, item 19).

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Executive Summary

AbSec, the peak organisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families in New South Wales (NSW), welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the New South Wales Legislative Council Select Committee inquiry into the foundational and disability supports available for children and young people in NSW.

Every child and young person should have equitable access to timely, culturally safe and coordinated foundational supports. Families and caregivers should receive the supports they need early on, through services that are connected, responsive and designed around the whole family. However, many children and young people with disability face significant barriers in access to foundational supports. These barriers are particularly pronounced for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people2 in NSW, whose needs are often unmet within systems that are not culturally responsive.

The Committee’s interim report highlights the systemic barriers faced by children and families. These include fragmented services, poor coordination, delayed access to early intervention services and gaps in mainstream support. Together, these failures limit access to timely, culturally safe and coordinated support, contributing to poorer outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and their families.

Despite funding and resourcing constraints, Aboriginal Community-Controlled organisations (ACCOs) have always and continue to respond to complex needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and families with a holistic and culturally safe approach that includes walking alongside families as they navigate complex fragmented systems. However, their reach and funding is limited. Government investment is directed towards individual, siloed programs rather than integrated, place-based models that reflect what families need. ACCOs report growing demand for substantially more integrated supports across early childhood, disability, allied health, child and family support and housing that responds holistically to the needs of children and families (AbSec, 2026).

Consistent with recommendations, three, six and seven of the Committee’s interim report, AbSec recommends that the NSW government establish, expand and sustainably fund Aboriginal Community-Controlled integrated service hubs as the cornerstone of foundational supports for Aboriginal children and families. These hubs will provide a culturally safe entry point to coordinated services across sectors, and so help reduce fragmentation, improve access to early intervention supports that build resilience and wellbeing, prevent problem escalation and reliance on high-cost statutory interventions. This model would ensure families receive the right supports, at the right time, regardless of where and when they enter the service system.

This proposal directly supports the intent of the Committee’s Inquiry and advances the NSW Government’s commitments under the National Agreement on Foundational Supports: Thriving

2 Throughout this document, we will use the term Aboriginal to include all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

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Kids Program, the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and Safe and Supported: The National Framework for protecting Australia’s children 2021 - 203. Investing in Aboriginal Community-Controlled integrated service hubs is an investment in prevention, equity, and self-determination so that every Aboriginal child and young person has the opportunity to thrive.

Recommendations

AbSec strongly supports the Committee’s recommendations and urges the NSW Government to enact the following recommendations along with those of the Committee:

Recommendation 1: Expand and strengthen Aboriginal community-controlled integrated service hubs

The NSW Government should invest in and expand proven Aboriginal Community Controlled models of foundational support across NSW, ensuring Aboriginal children, young people, and families can access culturally safe, holistic and coordinated supports.

This must include sustained investment in:

  • expanding Aboriginal child and family centres and similar proven models as a one stop shop/hub that brings a range of services such as health, education, disability, parenting supports, housing together in one culturally safe space
  • ensuring the reach and sustainability of these centres across metropolitan, rural and regional areas through long-term, place-based funding.

Recommendation 2: Reform commissioning to support integrated, place-based, community-led service delivery

The NSW Government must redesign commissioning and funding arrangements to enable ACCOs to deliver whole of family support services, rather than siloed programs funded through separate portfolios.

Funding must:

  • embed Aboriginal-led commissioning to ensure responsiveness to community priorities
  • be long-term, equitable and flexible
  • support multi-disciplinary teams and care coordination across sectors
  • reflect the actual cost of delivering culturally safe and responsive services.

Recommendation 3: Invest in the growth and sustainability of the Aboriginal Community-Controlled Sector workforce and infrastructure

Strengthening Aboriginal led delivery is one of the key reforms under the NSW Out – of-Home Care (OOHC) strategy and requires adequate resourcing to meet Aboriginal workforce and infrastructure needs.

This includes investing in:

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  • Aboriginal workforce development across sectors such as health, education, disability, housing and family supports
  • Upskilling Aboriginal staff and providing career pathways for leadership
  • Infrastructure of ACCOs including information, communications technology and corporate services.

Recommendation 4: Embed Aboriginal community leadership and shared decision-making in the design and governance of foundational supports

AbSec strongly supports recommendation seven and urges the NSW Government to genuinely partner with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and ACCOs to co-design, implement and evaluate foundational supports for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.

This should include:

  • strengthening and expanding Aboriginal Community-Controlled Mechanisms that identify, engage and walk alongside Aboriginal families; building trusted relationships, responding to emerging needs and connecting families earlier with required supports within local communities
  • embed Indigenous data sovereignty and governance in service delivery and evaluation
  • community defined measures of outcomes, reporting, success and accountability.

AbSec urges the NSW Government to invest in proven Aboriginal community-controlled integrated service models that are trusted by communities, designed around families and capable of delivering integrated foundational supports. Sustained investment in these proven models would ensure no Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child and young person is left behind because of where they live, the system they enter or the services available to them.

1. Introduction and Context

A foundational support system that works for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and families

Every child and young person should have equitable access to timely, culturally safe and coordinated foundational supports that enables them to grow and thrive. However, for many Aboriginal children and young people, this is not the reality. Instead, families are required to navigate multiple disconnected systems across health, disability, housing, child protection and others to access the support they need. Services are often fragmented across portfolios and delivered through separate funding programs that fail to build a complete picture of the needs of the family and to deliver appropriate interventions accordingly. Rather than coordinated and properly sequenced early supports, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families may only receive some support once they have reached the crisis point; and too often, the service response is to manage risk associated with the crisis rather than address the underlying causes.

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The New South Wales Legislative Council Select Committee’s (the Committee) Interim Report recognises these systemic failures. The Committee concludes that children and families experience poorly coordinated service systems, delayed access to early intervention and significant gaps in mainstream and foundational supports. It notes the exacerbation of these failures for Aboriginal children, young people and families due to the ongoing impacts of colonisation, intergenerational trauma, racism and structural inequity. While the NSW Government has committed to Closing the Gap, systems remain largely siloed and built around funding individual programs rather than securing positive outcomes through evidence based integrated approaches for Aboriginal children, young people and families.

Improving outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people requires transforming the way supports are commissioned, designed and delivered. ACCOs have consistently demonstrated that culturally safe, integrated, community led models deliver better outcomes for Aboriginal children and families. However, these proven approaches have not been matched by sustained investment that enable them to operate at the scale required to meet community need.

2. The Current System is failing Aboriginal children and families

2.1 The scale of the challenge

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people continue to experience some of the poorest outcomes across the child and family service system, highlighting the urgency to shift the way services and supports are provided.

Across NSW:

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people remain significantly over-represented in the child protection and out-of-home care system being 10 times more likely to be in OOHC than non-Aboriginal children. Moreover, the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people entering out-of-home care is increasing in NSW (DCJ, 2025).
  • Close to half of the high needs’ children in OOHC are Aboriginal (Hopkins, et al., 2021)
  • Those with disability in care, are less likely to have their health and mental health needs met than non-indigenous children (Hopkins, et al., 2021; Raman , et al., 2017; Raman, Reynolds, & Khan, 2011; Miller , Truong, & Alla, 2024).
  • Aboriginal children and young people are overrepresented in Intensive Therapeutic Care. The health, education and justice systems are failing to respond to the needs of these children (Ombudsman, 2025).
  • Currently just over one in five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in OOHC in NSW have an ACCO provide case management (DCJ, 2025).
  • ACCOs receive a small proportion of funding (10%) compared to mainstream organisations and the overall funding towards prevention and early intervention is less than 10% of the total expenditure on child protection and OOHC. This makes it impossible to provide sufficient wrap around supports for Aboriginal children, young people and families (DCJ, 2025)

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  • There are currently no reliable figures on the size and composition of the Aboriginal child and family sector workforce across NSW. AbSec research finds that approximately 60%3 of the ACCO workforce is Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and the overwhelming majority are women.
  • A little more than one third (37%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children commencing school were assessed as developmentally on track in all five Australian Early Development Census domains (Commission, 2024).

2.2 ACCOs reinforce the Committee’s findings

Evidence from AbSec’s State of the ACCO Child Protection and OOHC Sector Report 2026 reinforces some of the findings from the Select Committee’s interim report:

  • Aboriginal families living in rural, regional and remote communities experience additional barriers. These include long waiting times for allied health and disability services, limited access to specialist supports, and few opportunities to access culturally safe intervention services.
  • Siloed program responses are unable to address families’ complex and interconnected needs.
  • Funding arrangements remain tied to narrow program objectives rather than whole of family wellbeing.
  • Workforce shortages and underinvestment in capability and infrastructure constrain ACCOs’ ability to meet growing demand and expand culturally safe services across communities.
  • ACCOs are required to coordinate services across multiple systems without dedicated funding.
  • While the NSW Out-of-Home Care reform signals a greater role for ACCOs through an ACCO-first approach, the reform is not being meaningfully co-designed with the sector, limiting opportunities to build on existing Aboriginal-led models and community expertise.

These findings demonstrate that the issue is not one of isolated service gaps – it is a systemic failure in how foundational supports are funded, designed and delivered. Our conclusion is that foundational supports do not have the same sense of urgency or priority for the NSW Government, as say Out-of-Home Care, and yet the economic case and moral case are the same i.e. if we get in earlier to address need, we build family resilience and wellbeing, prevent problem escalation and reliance on high-cost statutory interventions.

3 The workforce percentages shared are based on yarns with 13 ACCOs. They reflect what we are broadly seeing across the sector, but we know there may be variation and exception across organisations.

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3. The case for reform: Building an Aboriginal Community-Controlled Foundational Support System

3.1 The current system is not designed around Aboriginal children and families

The evidence presented to this inquiry demonstrates that the current system is not delivering equitable, culturally safe foundational supports for Aboriginal children, young people and families in a timely manner. Services are funded and delivered through separate portfolios/programs, while children and families experience health, disability, education, housing, and family wellbeing as interconnected needs.

The Committee also notes the increasing pressure placed on the NDIS where broader foundational supports are unavailable or difficult to access. As a result, families are often required to navigate multiple services to access supports, which ideally should be delivered as a part of an integrated response to address family health and wellbeing. These failures are compounded by longstanding structural inequities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and families.

3.2 Integrated service hubs provide the foundation for reform

The Interim Report recognises that children and families need integrated, place-based and community-centred models of support that improve service coordination, provide a clear entry point for families and intervene before needs escalate. Rather than expanding isolated programs, the Committee identifies the need for services that bring together multiple supports around the needs of children and families through recommendations three, six, seven and 10.

AbSec strongly supports these recommendations. For Aboriginal children and families, integrated service hubs are crucial. These must be designed, governed and delivered through ACCOs to ensure they are culturally safe, trusted by communities and responsive to local needs. ACCOs have for decades coordinated cross-sector multidisciplinary supports while strengthening cultural identity, self-determination and community leadership.

“We never say no to a family if the family needs support, which means it is additional work and additional resourcing we have to find solutions to.”

  • ACCO representative, State of the ACCO Sector Census yarn

3.3 Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations demonstrate what works

Aboriginal Child and Family Centres delivered by ACCOs act as a hub where multiple services are delivered through a single, culturally safe space. For example, the independent Deloitte evaluation of the Early Years Support (EYS) program, run by SNAICC - National Voice for our Children, found the community-controlled intermediary model plays a “critical role in delivering

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direct, responsive support to services,“ which has “contributed to improved service quality, reduced barriers to effective delivery, and alleviated administrative burden” (Deloitte, 2025).

Another mechanism to provide community led outreach for families are Aboriginal Community-Controlled Mechanisms (ACCMs), that identify families in need of supports, build relationships and connect them with the relevant services before statutory child protection intervention. ACCMs are local bodies, led by community members, providing support and oversight to the child and family system in their area. There are currently 12 operating in different parts of NSW, but funding is time-limited until 2027. They are independent of government, but work collaboratively with government and other local partners to address a families’ holistic needs. The bodies are based in community with community members deciding who is involved and how it operates. The Dubbo Grannies Group is an example of an ACCM, and they have had significant success in addressing local families’ needs. For instance, an expectant mum with nine children was at risk of having her children removed. The Grannies became involved and brokered solutions with the local housing officers to ensure the family stayed safe and together.

The challenge is not identifying what works—it is ensuring these proven models are accessible and sustained for Aboriginal families across NSW.

Building on these proven models provides the NSW Government with an opportunity to deliver on the Committee’s vision through an evidence-based approach that aligns with Closing the Gap, the National Agreement on Foundational Supports, Safe and Supported, and the NSW OOHC Strategy.

4. The Roadmap for Reform: Priority actions for the government

Improving outcomes for Aboriginal children and families requires structural reform rather than incremental improvements to existing programs. Delivering an Aboriginal Community-Controlled foundational support system will require coordinated action across sectors, policy, funding and service delivery.

Recommendation 1: Expand and strengthen Aboriginal Community-Controlled Integrated Service Hubs

The evidence is clear that integrated service models — one-stop hubs to address the holistic needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and families is essential. AbSec supports recommendations three, six and seven of the Interim Report, and calls on the NSW Government to invest in and expand Aboriginal Community-Controlled hubs as the cornerstone of foundational supports for Aboriginal children, young people and families.

Building on existing Aboriginal Child and Family Centres and other proven Aboriginal Community-Controlled models, these hubs provide a single, culturally safe entry point where families can access coordinated supports across health, early childhood, disability, housing, education, parenting, and social and emotional wellbeing.

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Expanding integrated service hubs across metropolitan, regional and remote New South Wales will improve access to early intervention, reduce service fragmentation and enable families to receive coordinated support before concerns escalate into crisis (consistent with recommendation 11). Investment must be long-term and place-based to enable ACCOs to design services that respond to local community priorities and changing needs.

ACCOs Supporting Our Families

Nikinpa Aboriginal Child and Family Centre – Muloobinba Aboriginal Corporation

A culturally safe early years hub that brings childcare, preschool, health services, mental health supports and community programs together in one place. Families describe Nikinpa as a safe, welcoming space where they feel seen, supported, and able to access services they otherwise would not.

Yenu Allowah Aboriginal Child and Family Centre

An Aboriginal community-controlled hub that integrates early childhood education with wraparound family supports, including maternal and child health, allied health, parenting programs, domestic and family violence supports, after-school programs and community wellbeing initiatives.

Yenu Allowah provides a trusted place where Aboriginal children and families can access coordinated services, strengthen cultural identity and receive holistic support tailored to their needs.

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Recommendation 2: Reform commissioning to support integrated, place-based, community-led service delivery

Current commissioning arrangements continue to fund programs through separate portfolios, limiting ACCOs’ ability to provide integrated, whole-of-family responses.

Building on recommendations one, nine and 10 in the interim report, the NSW Government should reform commissioning and funding arrangements to support ACCOs as lead providers of integrated foundational supports. This includes embedding Aboriginal-led commissioning, providing long-term and flexible funding, supporting multidisciplinary teams and care coordination across sectors, and recognising the true cost of delivering culturally safe, community-led services.

Reforming commissioning will enable ACCOs to focus on prevention, early intervention and family wellbeing rather than navigating fragmented funding arrangements.

Aboriginal-led Commissioning

Aboriginal-led Commissioning (ALC) centres Aboriginal voices in the identification of priorities and the shaping of commissioning decisions within culturally safe settings. This culturally grounded, evidence-informed approach represents a deliberate shift away from competitive procurement models toward relational, community-led commissioning that fosters trust, strengthens local ownership, and enhances accountability to Community. It also enables greater flexibility in the allocation of funding and the design and delivery of services, ensuring they are responsive to locally identified needs and priorities.

This project being piloted by AbSec with ACCOs in Grafton and Condobolin is focussed on ensuring smaller communities can access services and to build a pathway for scaling. One of the sites spans different Aboriginal lands, where historically, funding approaches have created division across communities. Aboriginal-led Commissioning has brought these communities together to share stories, language and culture. This is consistent with Aboriginal ways of knowing, doing and being.

“One of the goals in Aboriginal-led commissioning is happier children, happier families – which does not fit into the government definition of KPIs”.

  • ACCO representative, State of the ACCO Sector Census yarn

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Recommendation 3: Invest in the growth and sustainability of the Aboriginal Community-Controlled Sector workforce and infrastructure

Consistent with recommendations five and 14 in the interim report, the NSW Government should invest in growing and retaining the Aboriginal workforce across support services through dedicated training, leadership development and career pathways. The NSW Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) Strategy recognises the importance of increasing Aboriginal-led service delivery. However, the rhetoric must match the reality. The rhetoric requires significantly expanded investment in workforce capability and organisational capacity and infrastructure.

Building a strong Aboriginal workforce is fundamental to improving access to culturally safe services and achieving long-term reform.

Key Figures

Only 23 percent of the Aboriginal children and young people in OOHC are case managed by ACCOs (ALDS).

Based on AbSec’s projections, it is estimated the Aboriginal child and family sector workforce needs to be at minimum 4,721 in NSW. This includes:

  1. 3,994 FTE Aboriginal caseworkers
  2. 619 FTE Aboriginal case managers
  3. 108 FTE Aboriginal senior managers.

Recommendation 4: Embed Aboriginal community leadership and shared decision-making in the design and governance of foundational supports

Aboriginal communities must have genuine authority in the design, governance and evaluation of foundational supports. Aboriginal self-determination is central to improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families and is a core commitment the NSW Government has made under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

AbSec supports recommendations three and 16 in the interim report and urges the NSW Government to embed Aboriginal community leadership across all aspects of foundational supports. An example is the ACCM, mentioned above which uses the cultural expertise of trusted community members to walk alongside families, understand their strength and needs, and work with multidisciplinary, multisectoral partners to coordinate and sequence supports before concerns escalate to statutory child protection intervention. This is consistent with advancing self-determination as well as delivering better outcomes for families, communities and the NSW Government.

The NSW Government should also embed Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Indigenous Data Governance across the design, delivery and evaluation of foundational supports. This will ensure Aboriginal communities have authority over how data is collected, accessed and used, and that

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success is measured through community-defined outcomes, accountability and continuous improvement.

Strengthening Aboriginal leadership will ensure foundational supports are culturally safe, locally responsive and accountable to the communities they are intended to serve.

Sovereign women leading the way

The Dubbo Grannies Group, a collective of strong, sovereign Aboriginal grandmothers, came together with a shared purpose: to protect and uplift their community, and ensure the next generations grow up strong in culture and connection.

Since 2023, the Grannies have become a key voice in local decision-making, helping shape the Dubbo ACCM. Their lived experience and cultural knowledge guide how services and systems can better support Aboriginal families.

They also work closely with Aboriginal Child and Family Advocacy and Support (ACFAS), offering culturally safe support to families navigating the child protection system. This partnership strengthens advocacy efforts and keeps families informed of their rights and options.

The Dubbo Grannies are more than advisors—they are cultural leaders, truth-tellers, and protectors of kin. Their story is proof that when Aboriginal women lead, communities thrive.

Conclusion

The Parliamentary Inquiry presents a significant opportunity to reshape how foundational supports are made available for Aboriginal children and families in New South Wales. The evidence presented by the Committee, reinforced by AbSec’s State of the ACCO Child Protection and Out-of-Home Care Sector Report 2026, demonstrates that the current system is fragmented, difficult to navigate and too often responds only after families have reached crisis.

ACCOs have consistently demonstrated that culturally safe, integrated and place-based approaches strengthen families, improve access to early intervention and deliver better outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people. It is essential that ACCOs and their ways of working are recognised, sustained and expanded through long-term investment and genuine partnership with Aboriginal communities.

By investing in Aboriginal Community-Controlled integrated service hubs, the NSW Government has an opportunity to move beyond managing disadvantage and build a system that prevents harm, strengthens families and ensures every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child and young person can grow up safe, connected to culture and supported to thrive.

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References

ABS. (2022). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with disability. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples-disability-2022#young-people

AbSec. (2026). State of the ACCO Child Protection and Out-of-home care sector report.

Commission, P. (2024). Socio-economic outcome area 4 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children thrive in their early years. Retrieved from https://www.pc.gov.au/closing-the-gap-data/dashboard/outcome-area/children-thriving/

DCJ. (2025). Aboriginal-led Data Sharing Child Protection and Out of home care statistics. Retrieved from https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/dcj.statistics/viz/Aboriginal-ledDataSharingChildProtectionandOut-of-homeCareStatistics/Tableofcontents?publish=yes

Deloitte. (2025). FINAL REPORT – SNAICC Early Years Support Evaluation Update (January 2025 – July 2025). Retrieved from chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.snaicc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SNAICC-Early-Years-Support-Evaluation-August-2025-UPDATE.pdf

Hopkins, J., Zhou, A., Watson, J., Paxman, M., Butler, M., & Burke, S. (2021). POCLS: Experiences and service needs of children in out-of-home care 5-12 years of age with cognitive and/or behaviour problems. Retrieved from chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://dcj.nsw.gov.au/documents/about-us/facsiar/pocls/pocls-publications/experiences-and-service-needs-of-children.pdf

Miller , H., Truong, M., & Alla, K. (2024). Supporting children with disability in out-of-home care (OOHC). Australia Institute of Family Studies .

Ombudsman, N. (2025). Inquiry into Intensive Therapeutic Care. Retrieved from https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/reports/report-to-parliament/inquiry-into-intensive-therapeutic-care-report

Raman , S., Ruston, S., Irwin, S., Tran, P., Hotton , P., & Thorne, S. (2017). Taking culture seriously: Can we improve the developmental health and well-being of Australian Aboriginal children in out-of-home care?

Raman, S., Reynolds, S., & Khan, R. (2011). Addressing the well-being of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care: are we there yet?

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