“My children didn’t even know when they were in care that they were Aboriginal…It was only when I started pushing the issue whereas – as they started getting older I’m like, so how are their cultural needs being met?”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
– Parent, BTHKTH research
The purpose of a Cultural Support Plan (CSP) for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child is to plan for how that child is to stay connected, or begin connecting, to their culture, family, Country, language and overall identity.
Every child who is in out-of-home care (OOHC) are, and is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background needs to have a CSP. This is a part of the Care Plan.
This is a legal requirement for the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ). The development of a cultural care plan needs to be done with a local Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisation (ACCO), and if there is not one, a locally governed Aboriginal community group.
What goes into the CSP needs to be led by yourself and your family and community, for it to be culturally significant for your child. Its implementation will be lead by the person who has case management for your child (DCJ or OOHC agency), so it is their responsibility, unless someone else in your family holds parental responsibility for culture.
Be developed by your family, using what is called Aboriginal family led decision making.
Be made for the age of your child, and updated as they grow.
Recognise how your family and community have already been meeting your child’s cultural needs, and arrangements to keep this continuing.
Understand family is central to culture, and arrangements need to be made to support ongoing connection with family as part of being connected to culture.
The Cultural Care Plan needs to be developed at the same time as the Care Plan, which is before the Children’s Court makes final orders.
One parent has said:
“My thing was they done a couple of cultural plans but they never really engaged or let me and my family, the Aboriginal side, be involved with that.”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
For a cultural support plan to be a good one, it needs to include family because family is culture. But many families have said their child’s cultural plan was for show, and didn’t really reflect their family, Community, Country, and culture, or there wasn’t one at all. DCJ policy says this plan needs to be led by your family, and there needs to be evidence of this in Standard 2.2 of the DCJ Practice Framework Standards.
It is a legal right for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to have a cultural plan (section 83A(3)(b) of the Care Act). It says that the cultural plan needs to explain how your child’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identity and connection with family and Community will be maintained and developed. The law says that consultation with the child, the child’s parents, family, kin, and relevant Aboriginal organisations needs to happen to develop the plan (section 83A(3)(c) of the Care Act). An Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander child who is being managed by a non-Aboriginal NGO must have their cultural plan approved by the Aboriginal community. But all of this is not always happening in real life. Standard 2 of DCJ’S practice framework says there needs to be evidence of “a cultural plan is in place, and cultural connection is attended to in the child’s case plan, if the child is in care; there is evidence that the child’s family, kin and cultural community-led the development of the plan.”.
Standard 2 of the Practice Framework Standards says there must be “a cultural plan in place, and cultural connection is intended to in the child’s case plan, if the child is in care; there is evidence that the child’s family, kin and cultural community led the development of the plan”. This should be evident in the Care Plan, case notes, Case Plan, and Cultural Plan. The need for this is also mentioned within Standard 5 of the Practice Framework Standards. DCJ caseworkers are required to follow their Practice Framework Standards. If you think or you know your caseworker has not followed their Practice Framework Standards, you can document this and talk to your lawyer. You can also speak to your caseworker and ask why they have not followed their Practice Framework Standards. If you are not happy with their reason, you can make a complaint. DCJ’s Child Protection Guide for Families 2024 says that Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children have “the right to stay connected or build connections to their community and land. The caseworker should consult with Aboriginal staff and community members as well as you, your family and your child’s carer to make this happen”.
If the cultural support plan has not included your family, it is not specific to your child, or there is none at all, you can remind DCJ of their legal responsibility to follow Section 83A(3) of the Care Act, with the help of your lawyer, advocate, and support service. If the Court is considering a care plan, alongside the Cultural Plan you are not happy with, if you speak up and say you are not happy with the Cultural Plan, the Court might direct the DCJ to prepare one that you are involved in. Otherwise, the Court may not approve the care plan as being “appropriate or adequate”, which it has to do before making any final order.
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.
