ACCOs United: Our Call to Government
Despite longstanding commitments, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in NSW continue to be disproportionately removed from their families and communities. Their cultural rights and needs are not being respected. ACCOs are sovereign organisations with unique cultural authority and community accountability — uniquely placed to provide culturally safe, holistic, and effective services alongside our children and families.
ACCOs across NSW have proven we are central to the solution. We want to work with government to co-design a system that changes this — for our children, our families, and our communities. More than 75% of casework with Aboriginal children remains outside ACCOs. NSW has the worst and declining rate of family reunification in the country. Seven years after the NSW Government introduced its own Aboriginal Case Management Policy, just over one in five Aboriginal children in OOHC have an ACCO providing their casework. This must change now.
We are calling on Premier Chris Minns to convene ACCOs and Aboriginal leaders as a matter of urgency, commit to a fundamental shift in power, resources, and trust toward Aboriginal communities, and take decisive action to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in NSW grow up safe, supported, and strong in culture.
Read the letter
4 May 2026
The Hon. Chris Minns MP
Premier
By email: [email protected]
Dear Premier,
I am writing as a member of the community to express significant concern about the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children at every stage of the NSW child protection and out-of-home care system.
Too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are removed from their families and are not supported to stay connected to culture, community, and identity. This costs the state of New South Wales billions of dollars and leads to significantly worse outcomes and long-term impacts for children, families, and communities.
Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) have the knowledge, cultural authority, and community trust to support children and families in ways that work. However, nearly all decisions and services remain outside ACCOs.
I call on the NSW Government to:
- work in genuine partnership with ACCOs to design an Aboriginal-led child protection system
- transfer all care and case management of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to Aboriginal carers and ACCOs other than in extenuating circumstances as a matter of urgency, with regular public reporting on progress
- reform funding and contracting to better assist Aboriginal-led services and which respect their unique cultural authority and the cultural safety of their services
- establish an independent Child Safety and Wellbeing Commission to transform child protection and out-of-home care systems accountability and outcomes in NSW and to start the building of trust and confidence in these broken systems.
Real change requires shifting power, resources, and trust to Aboriginal communities.
I urge you to take action to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in NSW can grow up safe, supported, and strong in their culture.
Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]
