The Family Matters report 2021 shows that Indigenous children continue to be removed from family and kin at disproportionate rates. This is despite overwhelming evidence about the harm this causes to children, families and communities.

This year’s Family Matters report is the first to be published following the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap, which was entered into in July 2020. This report focuses on what actions need to be taken to address the over-representation and the outcomes of First Nations children in out-of-home care.

The over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care is a complex issue. This year’s report shows that Indigenous children continue to enter statutory child protection systems at a greater rate, stay longer, and exit via reunification or restoration far less frequently.

The focus of this research is young people as agents of change in preventing violence against women. This reflects the origins of R4Respect as primarily a domestic violence prevention program.

Fewer than half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are placed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carers, following a steep decline over the last 10 years. This places Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who are removed from their families at serious risk of being permanently disconnected from their families, communities and cultures.