Social justice in Australia: ending the over-representation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care and returning them to their communities

This chapter examines the failure of Australian governments to address the BTH recommendations, and dissects the varied causes of the rapid rise in the number of Indigenous children entering the out-of-home care system (OOHC). Attention is drawn to a range of policy and practice responses at government level including particularly the introduction of the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle. It is argued that whilst good policy intentions exist, they have mostly not been translated into positive practice outcomes due to limited resourcing and the reluctance of governments to transfer decision making responsibility and power to Indigenous controlled organisations. Only the application of genuine self-determination in Indigenous child welfare similar to that exercised within some North American jurisdictions is likely to facilitate a more socially just system.