“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 care plan to be a good one, it needs to include family because Family is Culture. But many families have said their child’s cultural care 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, according to Standard 2 of the Practice Framework Standards.
Family time can be a way of getting your child’s cultural needs met. An example of this is a young Aboriginal boy going spear fishing with their dad, but there needed to be multiple people there to meet DCJ’s ‘safety requirements’. The family’s lawyer suggested that this was a good opportunity for this young boy to participate in his culture with his extended family, so extra family members came, and satisfied DCJ’s safety requirements. Even though this should be what DCJ is doing normally, families have said they have had to fight for doing cultural activities in family time. Work with your lawyer, advocate, and support service to see if you can also come up with opportunities like this.
It is a legal right for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to have a cultural plan (section 83A(3)(b) Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998). It says that the cultural care 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 Care Act says that consultation with the child, the child’s parents, family, kin, and the relevant Aboriginal organisations needs to happen to develop the plan (Section 83A(3)(c)). An Aboriginal child who is being managed by a non-Aboriginal NGO must have their cultural plan approved by the Aboriginal community. Aboriginal parents have sai that this is not always happening in real life.
Standard 2 of the Practice Framework Standards says there must be ‘a cultural plan 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.’ This should be evident in the care plan, case notes, case plan, and the cultural support 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 guide for families says as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, your child has “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”. (pg. 35).
DCJ’s ‘Interim Restoration Assessment Approach’ manual 2024 (page 26)* says “whether children are returning home or not, children benefit from strong relationships and time with family. Think about whether supervision is needed and who is best placed to provide this – consider supervision by a family member or kin, moving towards unsupervised family time.” It also says DCJ should “check bias, any assumptions you may have about parents and the cultural lens you bring. What views do you bring in assessing or understanding: different cultural roles or practices in parenting, collective caring, sibling roles and children’s attachment. For Aboriginal children and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, consider how cultural consultation can inform your understanding of relationships, connection and caregiving, including time spent on Country.”
*DCJ document not publicly available.
The purpose of a cultural support plan 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. They might also be called ‘cultural care plans’ or ‘cultural plans’. Every child who is in out-of-home-care (OOHC), and is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or from a culturally and linguistically diverse background, needs to have a cultural care plan. This is a part of the care plan. This is a legal requirement for 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. The cultural support plan needs to be led by yourself and your family and community, for it to be culturally significant for your child. The cultural support plan needs to:
The cultural support plan needs to be developed at the same time as the care plan, which is before the case goes to Children’s Court.
If the cultural care 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 law, with the help of your lawyer, advocate, and support service. You can request that your family, your supports and you be involved in the development of a new one.
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.
