“…I knew I had that [ACCO] support. It wasn’t like when they come up to me with the first TCA and I didn’t have anyone there to guide me and explain anything to me. I was aware it was voluntary. I was just like, I’m not signing it. Youse aren’t getting me to sign shit. Youse going to have to take me to court.”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
– Parent, BTHKTH research
A Temporary Care Agreement (TCA) is an agreement between parents and DCJ for your child to be in someone else’s care for 3 months or extended to 6 months, if DCJ thinks you need more time to make changes in those extra 3 months. DCJ says the purpose of a TCA is for parents to work towards what DCJ believes is a ‘safer’ environment for your child or for DCJ to have more time to investigate a Risk of Significant Harm (ROSH) report (sections 151 and 152 Care Act).
You have the right to be involved in making decisions about your child (section 12 and section 12A of the Care Act). You have the right to have a say in making decisions, including where your child will live and how and when you see your child. You have the right to be updated on details about your child’s life. You have the right to make long-term decisions for your child. You have the right to regularly see your child during a TCA. You have the right to speak to a lawyer before making this agreement. You have the right to end a TCA at any time. You have the right to a copy of the TCA documentation (DCJ, p.51, Guide for Families).
Section 12 of the Care Act states that DCJ are required to include Aboriginal family and community members to be involved in decision making processes. This right is protected by both law and policy. If you believe your views are not being considered within a TCA, you can apply to the Children’s Court for a review of it (section 152(6) of the Care Act).
A TCA can only be made if you consent, and there is a plan in place for your child to return home (restoration) (section 151 Care Act). How long it goes for should be an agreement between you and the caseworker and DCJ need to include how they will support you in the plan, such as transport to services, warm referrals to services, and helping you to find housing or leave a relationship where a person is using violence. This are known as ‘active efforts’, which DCJ are legally required to make, to try and make sure your child does not go into out-of-home care (section 9A of the Care Act). In practice though, parents are often asked to sign the TCA, and the plan for restoration is made after.
Other options like a family arrangement, parental responsibility contract, or registered care plan should always be considered as an option before a TCA. DCJ should already be aware of these options and you can ask for these measures to be put in place before a TCA, if you and your support team think that would be a better option. A TCA can be the best option when a parent doesn’t have extended family. A person can only have one TCA for up to 6 months, in a year’s time, not even for if you go to rehab or prison.
The TCA should clearly outline the tasks you need to do and by when. If these tasks that DCJ have asked you to do are unrealistic, or do not address the things DCJ say are a risk, work with your lawyer, advocate, and support service to try and change the tasks they are asking you to do. It is unfair to say that what a parent needs to change will take longer than three months and then ask them to sign for a TCA that can only be for three months at a time. This is also why it is important to get legal advice about your options.
DCJ need to be keeping in communication with you during this three month (or six month, if extended) time and doing what they say they will do to support you. It was the experience of another Aboriginal mum, that DCJ did not contact her for six months, and then removed her child.
During a TCA, DCJ might use this time to gather evidence against you, rather than taking active efforts to ensure your child returns to your care. It is smart to use this time to gather your own evidence, which is done best with a service, lawyer, and advocate.
It is helpful to have a child and family support service that is supportive, who can write reports on how you are doing, especially if you are doing better than DCJ are saying you are. This is because if it ever goes to Court, the reports can be used as evidence. You can also provide this to DCJ to show your progress. Don’t keep it from them if it means your child could come home sooner.
A TCA is supposed to be voluntary, but this has not been the experience for many Aboriginal parents. Aboriginal parents have said that DCJ have used TCAs as a form of coercion. This is when DCJ uses threats (of removal) to make you do things and blame you for things out of your control (when it might be in others control). This means many parents have felt pressured into a TCA, as they know that DCJ could remove their child anyway. One parent said:
“So I signed the forms. They told me it’s voluntary… But then the social worker’s saying they’re going to bring the police in. I was like, well, what do I do? I don’t want the kids forcibly taken from me. I got told I was agreeing to a three month thing to put my kids into care and that they would go with family… I was signing a lease the next week. But then I couldn’t sign it the next week because they took the kids. It’s temporary family accommodation, you need your kids to live there – everything just went sideways.”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
If you know or agree to a TCA happening, ask what they are going to say to your child about it.
Parent’s have said that DCJ have said things to their kids that paint them in a bad light and might not actually be what is happening. In one situation, a mum asked DCJ what they would say to her kids. They said they were going to say “Your mums house is not safe so you are going to live somewhere else,” and “Mum did bad things.” This wasn’t true. The mum asked DCJ to come up with a shared statement for her kids, so they did that.
You don’t have to agree to a TCA, but you should always get legal advice from a lawyer about your situation no matter what. One mum said:
“So, I knew I had that support. It wasn’t like when they come up to me with the first TCA and I didn’t have anyone there to guide me and explain anything to me. I was aware it was voluntary. I was just like, I’m not signing it. Youse aren’t getting me to sign shit. Youse going to have to take me to court.”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
Before you sign any documentation for a TCA, it is very important you seek legal advice immediately. You have a right to do this.
One parent has said about not understanding what you are signing…
“then next minute I know I was signing her to say that she could stay in the care of the minister till she’s 18 and I shouldn’t have signed that but I didn’t even know what I was signing. They didn’t explain to me. They done nothing for me. They helped me in no way. I had no idea what was going on.”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
A TCA is not legally a ‘removal’ because your child does not get ‘assumed’ or ‘removed’, because it is apparently done by agreement However, a TCA has been used as a step before the Court period, where DCJ then decide the child will not go home. This is known in Community as a ‘soft entry’ into care. It is DCJ’s responsibility to provide you with a clear understanding of what it is you must do for your child to return home, with a realistic timeframe for you to be able to achieve this.
Legally you can end the TCA at any time. However, Aboriginal parents have said that in reality there are usually consequences for ending the TCA. There is a high chance DCJ will go to their legal team and seek to officially remove your child and go to 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.
