7am Taking the children away
Dec 14, 2025
Catherine Liddle, CEO of SNAICC and advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, dives deep into the troubling realities documented in the Family Matters report. She reveals that these children face higher rates of removal from their families due to systemic failures, with a shocking 84 cents of every dollar going to removing kids instead of supporting families. Catherine highlights the detrimental impact of early removals, cultural misunderstandings in assessments, and calls for self-determination to break this cycle. A powerful discussion on urgent reform needed.
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Scale And Harm Of Child Removals
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are vastly overrepresented in out-of-home care and face worse outcomes across health and safety measures.
- The system's spending favours removal and institutionalisation rather than support, with only 16 cents per dollar going to family support.
Notifications Reflect Systemic Failings
- Many notifications to child protection are about non-protection issues like scabies or lice, reflecting service failures rather than danger.
- These health and housing gaps escalate into removals instead of triggering timely supports to stabilise families.
From Mandatory Reporting To Mandatory Support
- Mandatory reporting often funnels families into investigation rather than support, increasing removals without addressing root causes.
- People whom child protection sees as problems ask for a policy shift from 'mandatory reporting' to 'mandatory support.'