“At first I was very determined… to get them to put him into Aboriginal family care straightaway because I was like straight onto them, I said no, I want him to be with family. I said I don’t want him to be like they were constantly moving him around, so how am I supposed to know if he’s okay or if he’s safe there? I don’t know, but as soon as I knew that he was with family my stress levels were down to zero and it was like, yeah.”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
– Parent, BTHKTH research
Relative or Kinship care is when a child lives with and is cared for by a relative other than their parent, or a member of their Aboriginal community.
A Kincare assessment is different from a foster care assessment, as practitioners focus more on family dynamics such as boundaries with parents.
“They were originally supposed to go to my mum. But because my stepfather wouldn’t do his police check, never happened. My sister has her own kids, so they never even bothered there.”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
Relative and Kincare assessments are done by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), other services, or contracted assessors. You can ask for these assessments to be done for a person, and these services can request this as well.
‘Probity checks’ are a group of checks that includes an identity check, Criminal Record check, Working with Children Check (WWCC), and DCJ community services check (see NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian’s Carer Register Fact Sheet 1, and Schedule 2 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Regulation 2022 (NSW). This is for the assessment in DCJ deciding if the applicant is a ‘safe’ carer. A WWCC ‘bar’ means that a person has not been cleared to work with children, meaning they cannot be an authorised carer. However, if the proposed carer has some issues with the probity check, that does not mean they automatically cannot be a carer. In a relative & kincare assessment a practitioner will:
If you think there is a chance of your child being removed soon, it is smart for family members to stay one step ahead and for them to get a WWCC and police check done on their own. Then, if it comes to your child being removed and going to Court, the judge will have a harder time saying no to that family or community member.
If you do not have a family member that can take on the care of your child, or they can’t at the moment, you can try and find a community member to take care of your child in the meantime. Probity checks can be invasive for family and community members. The job of practitioners during the assessment is not to assume the carer will be perfect (as there is no such thing, as with parents), but think about what is the best for the child, considering family, community and cultural ties.
If your family is wanting to care for your child as an authorised carer (DCJ has legal responsibility), a WWCC is necessary. But if your family member holds parental responsibility, they do not require a WWCC, because they won’t need to be authorised. If you have a safe family member who might not be able to get a WWCC, discuss this with your lawyer.
“They [children] were originally supposed to go to my mum. But because my stepfather wouldn’t do his police check, never happened. My sister has her own kids, so they never even bothered there.”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children need to be placed in accordance with the Placement Principles, under section 13 of the Care Act. The permanent placement principles state that if a child is not to stay with their parents, the next option to be considered is a relative or kinship care placement (section 10A of the Care Act). This means that it is DCJ’s responsibility to make active efforts to find and speak with family, and facilitate those relationships, in order to fulfil the Placement Principles. DCJ are required to use Aboriginal Family Led Decision Making (AFLDM) including when it comes to kincare placements to promote self-determination.
AbSec and our partners acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout NSW and their continuing connections to land, waters, and communities. We also acknowledge the lands on which these stories were told, the lands of the Dharawal, Yuin and Wonnarua people.
We acknowledge the Elders, leaders and advocates that have led the way and continue to fight for our children. We 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.
This website shares the experiences and advice of Aboriginal families involved in the NSW child protection system who participated in the Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research at UNSW. We acknowledge and thank the families who generously gave permission to share their stories.
These experiences reflect what worked for those families and do not constitute advice or views of AbSec. AbSec recommends seeking independent legal advice for your own circumstances.
