Today marks the beginning of a national week of action for Family Matters, a campaign to address the growing over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in child protection and care.

Aboriginal children are currently being removed from their families at almost ten times the rate of non-Aboriginal children across Australia.

‘Uniting Communities has been an active member and supporter of Family Matters since its inception at both a national and state level,’ says Chief Executive, Simon Schrapel. ‘We are committed to supporting and working alongside Aboriginal-led organisations and community to build the capacity of families to keep children living safely within family and culture. We want to see action taken to invest in family support and restoration, rather than increasing removal of children into care.’

Uniting Communities supports the call by Family Matters to introduce a new Closing the Gap target federally that would seek to eliminate the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care by 2040.

We encourage everyone to reflect on this cause and add their voice to addressing the issue of Aboriginal child safety and wellbeing.

More information about Family Matters and the national week of action can be found at www.familymatters.org.au