During 1994, the International Year of the Family (IYF), the New South Wales Law Reform Commission received a grant from the IYF Secretariat in New South Wales to conduct research relevant to families in Australia. The Commission conducted research into two issues: intercountry adoption and the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle.
The lack of empirical data in relation to both of these issues was identified by the Commission after it commenced a comprehensive review of the Adoption of Children Act 1965 (NSW) in December 1992. This Research Report is published contemporaneously with the Commission’s final report, Review of the Adoption of Children Act 1965 (NSW) (NSWLRC Report 81, 1997).
The Research Report evaluates the application of the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle (“the Principle”) in each State and Territory in Australia. The aim of the research was to assess the effectiveness of the Principle in placing Aboriginal children with Aboriginal people for fostering and adoption.
The Research Report examines child welfare and adoption legislation, and presents data from government departments responsible for child welfare, in each State and Territory. It also examines all expressions of the Principle set out in departmental policy documents. Information was also sought from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child care agencies throughout Australia. The Research Report provides a statistical picture of the placement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australia. However, this picture is limited by reason of widespread failure to record data concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child welfare in many of the responsible government departments throughout Australia.
All States and Territories maintain that the Principle is applied, but the figures obtained do not conclusively substantiate this. The research revealed that Aboriginal children are still being placed, disproportionately, with non-Aboriginal people for fostering and adoption. However, including the Principle in legislation rather than an administrative policy seems to reduce the numbers of Aboriginal children being adopted. The effect of including the Principle in legislation relating to the fostering of children is harder to gauge from the statistics provided. The Research Report also examines factors which prevent the effective operation of the Principle.
The value of this Research Report is first, as a source of information in an area where this has been lacking, and second, as an integral part of the research process, aiding the Commission in reaching its final recommendations in the review of Adoption of Children Act 1965 (NSW). The Commission’s Report of this review refers to material contained in this Research Report where that material has been relevant to the formulation of particular recommendations.
This Research Report is based on information received up to March 1997. Since that time the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has reported on the results of the inquiry into the stolen generation. The Report on the Inquiry into the Stolen Generation was released on 26 May 1997.
This Research Report was prepared for the Commission by Jennifer Lock. Additional research assistance was provided by Rachel Way, Liz Leung, Lan Vy Tu, Miranda Biven and Hilton Nader. Adrienne Bailey, Joseph Waugh and Catherine Gray provided comments on the final draft of this Research Report. The Commission gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance from the IYF Secretariat which enabled this research to be undertaken. It would not have been possible without the participation and commitment of the Aboriginal Children’s Services in New South Wales.
Peter Hennessy
Executive Director
