Thursday, 22 June 2023

Ministers statements: Aboriginal Children’s Forum

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, Minister for Child Protection and Family Services) (12:13): I rise to update the house on how the Andrews Labor government is partnering with Aboriginal-led organisations to ensure Aboriginal children thrive and live in culturally rich and strong Aboriginal families and communities. Earlier this month I met with members of the Aboriginal Children’s Forum and co-chaired the second day of their two-day meeting with Aunty Muriel Bamblett, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency. The Aboriginal Children’s Forum brings together representatives from Victoria’s Aboriginal community controlled organisations, community service organisations and the Victorian government. Since it began in 2015 the ACF has met quarterly to promote the safety, health and resilience of Aboriginal children and young people. Through these forums members have advocated for a number of key initiatives in the Aboriginal children and families sector, including Aboriginal children in Aboriginal care, transitioning Aboriginal children to ACCOs and the development of Wungurilwil Gapgapduir:Aboriginal Children and Families Agreement, which was launched in 2018 to provide a strategic direction to reduce the number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care.

In this year’s budget the Andrews Labor government committed to the largest ever single investment to continue and expand the Aboriginal-led service system: $140 million over four years. Through this investment we will work with Aboriginal-led organisations to expand the Aboriginal children in Aboriginal care program, provide additional Koori-supported playgroups to all 17 areas of the state, allow more Aboriginal families to access Aboriginal-led rapid engagement and diversion family services aimed at diverting families from the child protection system, fund additional Aboriginal families receiving the Aboriginal family preservation and reunification response and expand the Community Protecting Boorais program to an additional 174 children that can be investigated by an authorised Aboriginal agency.

This investment strengthens our partnership with Victoria’s Aboriginal community controlled organisations, and it aims to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child protection system. I want to acknowledge the contribution and work of all member organisations of the ACF, and I look forward to meeting with them again later in the year. Aboriginal people know the unique needs of their communities best, and our government is partnering with Aboriginal-led organisations to enable them to provide vital child protection and family services in their communities.