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South Australia - Glossary Term

Aboriginal Child Placement Principle (1983 - 2009)

From
1983
To
2009
Categories
Policy
Alternative Names
  • ACPP (Acronym)

The Aboriginal Child Placement Principle became the official policy of the South Australian government in 1983. The Principle was established to ensure that Aboriginal children in foster care were placed with Aboriginal families. Children raised in a culturally appropriate environment were more likely to learn about language and culture, allowing them to retain or rediscover their cultural identity. The Principle was included in South Australian legislation from 1988. It was renamed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle in 2009.

Details

The South Australian Aboriginal Child Care Agency was established in 1978 to assist with finding Aboriginal foster families for Aboriginal children placed in care. As a result of lobbying by Aboriginal Child Care agencies across Australia, the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle (ACPP) was developed. It became the official policy of the South Australian Department of Community Welfare in 1983.
The Principle outlined the preferred order of placement for an Aboriginal child. The first preference was for children to be placed with members of their own extended family. If this was not possible, children were to be placed with another Aboriginal family from the same community. Finally if this option failed, children would be placed with another Aboriginal family.

The Principle acknowledged that previous government policies caused separation and suffering for Aboriginal people and emphasised the right of Aboriginal people to raise their own children in their own communities. It recognised that placement with an Aboriginal family allowed children to be raised in a culturally appropriate environment, an environment which would help them to retain, and learn more about, their culture and language.

The ACPP was incorporated into South Australian legislation in the Adoption Act 1988 and the Children's Protection Act 1993. In 2009 the Children's Protection Act was amended to include Torres Strait Islander people. From that year the Principle was renamed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle.

Timeline

 1983 - 2009 Aboriginal Child Placement Principle
       2009 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle

Related Legislation

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Ban, Paul, 'Aboriginal child placement principle and family group conferences', Australian Social Work, vol. 58, no. 4, December 2005, pp. 384-394. Details

Online Resources

Sources used to compile this entry: Aboriginal Child Placement Principle Guide, Community Care Division, Victorian Government Department of Human Services, Melbourne, Victoria, August 2002, https://web.archive.org/web/20170510225409/http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/about-the-department/documents-and-resources/reports-publications/aboriginal-child-placement-principle-guide-2002; Child Welfare Series Number 53: Child Protection Australia 2010-2011, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Canberra, 2011, http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=10737421014; Ban, Paul, 'Aboriginal child placement principle and family group conferences', Australian Social Work, vol. 58, no. 4, December 2005, pp. 384-394; George, Karen, Finding your own way, Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia Inc., 2005, http://nunku.org.au/resources/.

Prepared by: Karen George and Gary George