This report presents updated information on ear and hearing health outreach services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people aged under 21 in the Northern Territory, between July 2012 and December 2017. These services were funded by the Australian government and delivered by the Northern Territory government.

This resource provides a description of the definition of the five core elements of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP).

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.

One year on from the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory’s final report and six months into the reform journey, the Northern Territory government is making progress to improve support and services to families experiencing vulnerability and overhaul the child protection and youth justice systems.

Children are already being removed from Indigenous communities at an unprecedented rate. Indigenous children make up 36.9% of children in out-of-home care in Australia, despite being just 3% of the population.