“They then called us in for a family case conference and just all went against me. Because I was – had gone through DV with the previous fathers and was still going through DV with this father, I wouldn’t let them know that I was going through DV because I was so frightened of them taking this last baby of mine.”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
– Parent, BTHKTH research
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. The plan should be based on risks identified in DCJ’s previous assessments and outline what needs to be done, by who, and by when. Everyone must agree on the plan and receive a signed copy.
If you decide to do an FGC, it is best to ask for one as early as possible (right after their initial contact with you and the safety assessment). The reason for this is so that your family and community supports are involved from early in the process. You can also do multiple FGCs throughout the process, and you can ask to have timeframes for review of actions as part of the outcome of the FGC (for example, you can include having another FGC if the assessment of a family member does not proceed within a certain time or comes back negatively). They can be done before or after care proceedings, meaning you can also do this whilst working towards restoration.
Aboriginal families have said FGC’s can be very traumatic and disempowering for families, because they are not self- determined, DCJ still holds the power, advocates can be excluded, and there can be too many caseworkers.
Many Aboriginal families say that a family gathering that is supported by DCJ is a more helpful and self-determined way of doing things. You can have a family meeting at the very beginning of DCJ’s involvement, without DCJ and before having a FGC. You don’t have to wait for DCJ to organise a family meeting. The goals you create can go into the FGC if you want them to.
DCJ is there at the start of this meeting. It is meant to be run by a neutral person, but in reality, the facilitator often takes on the views of DCJ. Some FGC facilitators are Aboriginal, and you can request an Aboriginal facilitator.
DCJ is the one to organise a FGC, which could take time. It’s been some parents’ experience that DCJ can twist the truth they tell to your family members before the FGC and not tell you, so that in the FGC they believe what DCJ is saying.
One Aboriginal parent has said:
“They [DCJ] said oh they were going to do all this and do that. They still haven’t done it. They still haven’t. I’m still like square one.”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
A FGC can outline the things DCJ say they will do and their responsibilities. This doesn’t mean anything legally, but it is still a good record of what they are promising they will do, or what will happen.
An FGC should be offered to you by DCJ at the start of their involvement. An FGC is a type of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) or Dispute Resolution Conference, and it is a legal requirement from DCJ* to consider the appropriateness of offering you one before applying to remove your child (excluding exceptional circumstances) (section 37 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998). However, ADR’s are not being made available to approximately 50% of Aboriginal families (Audit Office of NSW, page 35). If you want to do a FGC, write to your caseworker and say: “under Section 37 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 and I would like to do one.” Other parents say to document the response from DCJ, and to not accept a ‘no’ or no response from them as a final answer.
*DCJ document not publicly available
FGCs should not be done as a family unit if there is domestic violence happening. DCJ are not allowed to do an FGC with a person that you have an AVO against. The person who is experiencing violence can organise an FGC with their family and supporters. FGCs can be organised for each parent separately. The FGC convener (the person who organises and facilitates the FGC) should be told straight away if there is an AVO or concerns about domestic, family or sexual violence.
Developing plans and goals can be confusing because in reality, there can end up being two sets of goals for families: one set in the FGC and another in the Family Action Plan (FAP). The goals from the FGC are made on your family’s terms (or should be), and the FAP is made directly with DCJ. Sometimes there’s a clash between the goals of your family and what DCJ wants.
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.
