I'm worried my child could be removed

Stay one step ahead if you think your child could be removed by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.

Stay one step ahead if you think your child could be removed by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.

(DCJ, once DoCS or FACS).

All information has been informed by the Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home (BTHKTH) research, which centers the voices and experiences of Aboriginal parents and families navigating the NSW child protection system. The families have given us permission to share their experiences.

Learn what happens next

This information covers important things to do no matter what stage you are at in the system, ways you can get ahead of the child protection game, the assessments and plans DCJ should be doing before removal, and alternatives to removal.

How did DCJ get involved?

Know what you should do as soon as NSW Department of Communities and Justice contacts you, or you know a ROSH report has been made.

Get a lawyer or legal advice

Working with a lawyer could change the outcome of DCJ's involvement with your child and will empower you with information about what could be ahead.

Playing the system’s game

Aboriginal parents have used a strategy that has been called ‘strategic compliance.’ This is when they agree to do what DCJ is asking them to do or go above and beyond it, in their own way.

Create your own evidence

The system collects information in their reporting, investigation, and assessment processes. Understand what you should document too.

Build your support team

Find a lawyer, advocate, support service, Aboriginal Community-Controlled Mechanism, and community members, friends, or family that can be part of your support team.

What should DCJ be doing?

The child protection system is built with laws in it. To put these laws into place, the government writes policies. DCJ are supposed to follow these laws and policies.

How does DCJ identify my child as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander?

There is an interim process for reviewing urgent requests for changes to Indigenous Status, where there is sufficient evidence that a child or young person has been misidentified or de-identified.

Putting in a Complaint

There are different options for putting in a child protection complaint, whether to the NSW Department of Communities and Justice or other agencies.

How should DCJ be treating me in an assessment?

DCJ are required to plan for the most effective and respectful approach during assessments, but this is not the experience of other Aboriginal parents.

What is a Family Group Conference?

A Family Group Conference (FGC) is a meeting with family, community members, service providers, and others who support your family, to create a plan for your child.

Child protection assessments and plans

Learn about the assessments and plans DCJ and other child protection agencies use within the system, and the order you'll interact with them in.

What is a Safety Assessment?

A Safety Assessment is used by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice to see if your child is safe and if there are supports that they can provide.

What is a Safety Plan?

A Safety Plan will include a list of things DCJ say are a risk to your child's safety, taken from the Safety Assessment they do with you.

What is a Family Arrangement?

A Family Arrangement is the least intrusive placement option that exists, and can support Aboriginal children to continue being raised with their kin, community, and culture.

What are risk assessments?

Discussing the Department's assessment guide on ‘Interim Approach to Assessing Risk’ and what DCJ caseworkers should be doing.

What is a Parent Capacity Order?

A Parent Capacity Order (PCO) is a Court Order that tells you to participate in a program, service, or course, such as to rehab, parenting courses or counselling.

What is a Parental Responsibility Contract?

A Parental Responsibility Contract (PRC) is a voluntary agreement between one or more parents and DCJ, outlining the things they think parents need to change in order to keep their child at home.

What is a Registered Care Plan?

A Registered Care Plan (RCP) includes arrangements for your child's care, which often means they are living with someone else. It outlines how your child’s health, educational, and cultural needs will be met.

What is a supervision order?

A supervision order allows the Department to supervise you and your child through home visits, interviews with your child, talking with services and formal reports to the court.

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.