Responsibility: State and territory governments
Response:
ACT, SA, NSW, VIC, WA, NT, QLD: Accept in principle
TAS: Subject to further consideration
Australian Capital Territory
Response: Accept in Principle
Status: In progress
What has been achieved to date
In the ACT, parenting capacity assessments for First Nations parents is overseen by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Care Pathway Panel (the Panel). For example, the referring team will be asked to provide the input of the internal Disability Liaison Officers to support the Panel discussions re: whether presenting concerns are related to a specific disability context.
Assessment requests are brought before the Panel for discussion and review to ensure cultural oversight, and to ensure that an appropriate cultural lens is applied. In doing this, the assessment body and outcome/recommendations are reviewed and discussed against the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principles and 5 core components to determine whether it is in the best interest of First Nations peoples in accordance with the legislation, in particular Section 349.
The ACT Government Community Services Directorate will continue to explore how to expand the role of Children Youth and Families (CYF) Disability Liaison Officers in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Care Pathway Panel.
ACT government response July 2024
The ACT Government has undertaken significant reform to increase the cultural responsiveness of its Child and Youth Protection Services (CYPS), including embedding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle into the Children and Young People Act. Building cultural responsiveness has also occurred through the continued implementation of the recommendations of the Our Booris, Our Way report, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-led review of the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in the ACT child protection system, that made recommendations for sweeping change. Further reform has been delivered through the establishment of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Support Team, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Kinship Liaison Officer, Family Group Conferencing and establishment of the Family Connection and Restoration team.
The ACT Government recognises ongoing work is required to increase the cultural responsiveness of Child and Youth Protection Services (CYPS)for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents with a disability. The ACT Government will explore options for co-designing with the Aboriginal and Torres Islander community and key partners, clear principles and guidelines for best practice parenting capacity assessments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents with disability, as well as relevant guidelines and training. Where possible the ACT Government will work with other jurisdictions to ensure consistency in the development and implementation of these standards.
New South Wales
Response: Accept in principle
Status: In progress
What has been achieved to date
The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), in close partnership with NSW Health, will lead work to determine the best way to develop principles for ensuring parenting capacity assessments are culturally appropriate. Key stakeholders, including the First Peoples Disability Network, will be engaged with to support this work.
A new governance group is being established, including both DCJ and NSW Health, to provide oversight to NSW implementation of this recommendation.
NSW government response July 2024
NSW agrees it is critical that First Nations parents with disability are assessed in a fair, accessible and culturally appropriate way. NSW Health will work with First Peoples Disability Network, Aboriginal Disability Network advocacy groups and other stakeholders to determine the best way to develop and implement these principles. We will also consult with other States and Territories to promote a consistent approach.
In 2020/21, DCJ funded the development of 'Disability Informed Practice in Child Protection: A Guide to Assessing Parenting Capacity with Parents with Intellectual Disability,’ which can help inform this work. This guide was developed by the University of Sydney in collaboration with the Children's Court Clinic, Intellectual Disability Rights Service, WASH House, a magistrate and an Aboriginal Elder. The resource has been published as part of the Judicial Commission's guidance for the Childrens’ Court and is aimed at "clinical assessors and experts, judicial officers, Statutory Authorities, caseworkers from government and non-government organisations (NGOs), Independent Legal Representatives, Legal Aid and private solicitors.
Northern Territory
Response: Accept in principle
Status: In progress
What has been achieved to date
In the Northern Territory, the current process for formal Parenting Capacity Assessments (PCAs) to be completed is through a referral to the Medical Allied Health Specialist Services (MAHSS) panel contract for an external provider to complete. The majority of PCAs are referred by the Local Children’s Courts across the Northern Territory.
The Department of Children and Families are undertaking a review of the current process to develop a formal position on utilising PCAs in child protection practices, including the effectiveness of using PCAs to measure a parent’s capacity to create a safe environment for their child or demonstrate behavioural change over time, including cultural appropriateness, trauma informed and DV informed.
When not court ordered, the Department’s safety planning process through its Aboriginal Cultural Security Framework, Signs of Safety Practice Framework and Safe and Together Domestic Violence Informed Practice Model are used to build parents’ capacity through identifying and developing a natural network that provides support for both the parents and child with disability and works to create sustainable safety for the child.
NT government response July 2024
In the Northern Territory the Signs of Safety Assessment and Planning Framework is an approach used for child protection casework, including when working with parents with disability. Signs of Safety is a solution focussed, strengths-based framework that seeks to work with families and the people closest to them (natural networks) to develop safety goals and plans which work towards increasing the safety for the children. When working with Aboriginal parents, the assessment is informed by the Territory’s Aboriginal Cultural Security Framework and in consultation with Aboriginal Community Workers, Aboriginal Practice Advisors or Remote Family Support Workers, who provide a cultural lens to inform best practice standards and cultural competence for practitioners. During the assessment and planning process where it is identified that the parent would benefit from further assessment to assist in creating the safety for their child, an appropriate referral may be made. Where a referral is made the Northern Territory has an established panel of providers who are contracted to undertake assessment with consideration of cultural factors, including the use of culturally appropriate assessment tools. All Northern Territory child protection staff receive training specific to the Aboriginal Cultural Security Framework and culturally safe practice. The Aboriginal Cultural Security is embedded in all practice guidance.
Queensland
Response: Accept in Principle
Status: Further work required
What has been achieved to date
This recommendation aligns with work currently being undertaken by the Queensland Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety, via a working group, to identify and improve service delivery for parents with an intellectual disability, inclusive of parental capacity assessments. The recommendation will be incorporated into this existing work with an additional and intentional focus on culturally capable parenting capacity assessments.
QLD government response
The Queensland Government remains committed to implementing the recommendations of the Disability Royal Commission. The Queensland Government has updated its responses to a range of Disability Royal Commission recommendations to reflect contemporary Queensland Government policy and commitments.
2025 response
The Queensland Government recognises the challenges outlined by the Royal Commission regarding culturally appropriate parenting capacity assessments.
This commitment to culturally responsive assessment is complemented by 35 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Wellbeing Services delivering culturally appropriate and responsive intensive early family support services to meet families’ needs and de-escalate the risk of child protection involvement. Queensland is also committed to implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle to the standard of active efforts across the child protection continuum.
South Australia
Response: Accept in principle
Status: Further work required
What has been achieved to date
Discussions on how to implement this recommendation in South Australia have commenced.
The South Australian Department of Child Protection remains committed to improving existing practice in line with Disability Royal Commission recommendations. Further updates on this recommendation will be provided in due course.
SA government response July 2024
The South Australian government recognises that Parenting Capacity Assessments (PCA) for First Nations caregivers with disability must be culturally appropriate, trauma informed, and evidence based. In South Australia, requirements for conducting PCAs are gazetted under the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 and outlined in the Department for Child Protection internal clinical guidelines. South Australia welcomes measures to design and support best practice approaches that can inform and enhance existing practice.
Tasmania
Response: Subject to further consideration
Status: Subject to further consideration
What has been achieved to date
The Tasmanian Government remains committed to considering this recommendation further.
TAS government response July 2024
The Tasmanian Government needs further time to consider this recommendation.
The Tasmanian Government is committed to improving the way we work with First Nation children and families and consider this recommendation in line with Commissioner of Inquiry recommendations.
Victoria
Response: Accept in principle
Status: Further work required
What has been achieved to date
The intent of this recommendation, to ensure assessments of First Nations parents with a disability are culturally appropriate, will be met by work underway in Victoria to transfer resources and decision-making responsibility for First Nations children involved with Child Protection to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations. First Nations people know the unique needs of their communities best and evidence demonstrates they are best placed to provide vital child protection services and support to keep families together.
This work is being progressed under Wungurilwil Gapgapduir: Aboriginal Children and Families Agreement and Strategic Action Plan which serves as a landmark partnership between the Aboriginal community, government and community services organisations to commit to better outcomes for First Nations children and young people. It is aligned with Victoria's commitments in response to the Yoorrook for Justice report, released on 4 September 2023, which makes several important recommendations to address systemic injustice and improve outcomes for First Peoples children in the child protection system.
Since 2018, the Victorian Government has invested over $191 million in Wungurilwil Gapgapduir. This has been further supported by the 2023-24 State Budget, which provided $140 million over four years to improve outcomes for Aboriginal children.
A critical outcome of Wungurilwil Gapgapduir is the transfer of decision-making power for First Nations children involved with Child Protection through the nation-leading Aboriginal Children in Aboriginal Care (ACAC) program and Community Protecting Boorais pilot which authorises First Nations agencies to investigate reports made to child protection.
VIC government response July 2024
We accept this recommendation in principle.
We are working to improve culturally appropriate service responses for Aboriginal children and their families. We are focusing in particular on the child protection and care systems.
We will undertake a scoping exercise. We need to map the recommendation to the Victorian child protection and service system. We also need to consider current reforms to improve responses to Aboriginal children in child protection and care. This will help determine the implementation approach.
The Yoorrook Justice Commission’s Yoorrook for Justice report was released on 4 September 2023. The report makes several important recommendations to address systemic injustice and improve outcomes for First Peoples children in the child protection system.
We have accepted 28 of these recommendations, either in principle or in full. We will consider 15 more.
We will align our implementation of recommendation 9.1 with this work.
Western Australia
Response: Accept in principle
Status: Further work required
What has been achieved to date
Research is underway.
WA government response July 2024
The WA Government accepts in principle this recommendation. Implementation is subject to policy development and person-centred community consultation for development of principles and guidelines.
What the Disability Royal Commission said in the final report
State and territory governments should work with First Nations child protection services, peak bodies and First Nations people with disability to co-design clear principles and guidelines for parenting capacity assessments for First Nations parents with disability in their jurisdiction, to ensure assessments are culturally appropriate. The principles and guidelines should include:
- best practice standards of cultural competence for practitioners conducting parenting capacity assessments of First Nations parents with disability
- guidance to assist practitioners conducting parenting capacity assessments of First Nations parents with disability to identify and address assessment test errors that may result from an insufficient understanding of how cultural factors affect assessments of parenting capacity
- a requirement that practitioners conducting parenting capacity assessments of First Nations parents with disability complete mandatory training to implement best practice standards of cultural competence, using testing tools that are culturally appropriate and disability appropriate
- establishing a review process to ensure the design and implementation of these standards is consistent across states and territories.
More recommendations
View progress on other recommendations made by the Royal Commission.