Aboriginal Children in Aboriginal Care is a program for Aboriginal children and families involved with the child protection system where authorised Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations provide vital child safety services.
The Aboriginal Children in Aboriginal Care (ACAC) program gives authorised Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) – under section 18 of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 – legal responsibility for Aboriginal children or young people who have been placed on a Children’s Court protection order.
Under this program, an authorised ACCO will actively work with the child’s family, community, and other professionals to develop a case plan to address protective concerns and achieve long-term objectives in a way that is culturally appropriate and in the best interests of the child.
There are 4 ACCOs authorised to operate under the ACAC program. They are:
- Bendigo and District Aboriginal Cooperative
- Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency
- Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative
- Rumbalara Aboriginal Cooperative.
The following ACCOs are in pre-authorisation and will become fully authorised in 2025. This means they are preparing to deliver the ACAC program.
- Njernda Aboriginal Corporation (in Echuca)
- Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Cooperative.
Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Cooperative will start pre-authorisation in 2025.
The full authorisation of BADAC in 2024 and Rumbalara in 2025, and the broader expansion of the ACAC program, recognises that Aboriginal people and organisations are best placed to make decisions and deliver services that protect the best interests of Aboriginal children.
Community Protecting Boorais program
An Australian first, the Community Protecting Boorais program allows authorised ACCOs to take responsibility for investigating reports that are made to child protection for Aboriginal children. The program aims to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal children in care, by prioritising self-determination and facilitating Aboriginal models of care delivered by ACCOs.
The Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency and Bendigo and District Aboriginal Cooperative lead the program, which started in 2023 – in an extension of their involvement in the ACAC program for many years. They respond to child protection reports, thereby intervening earlier to try to divert families from further entering the child protection system.
More information
For more information, please see the Frequently asked questions (Word) document.
If you have any questions about the above, please email aboriginalinitiatives@dffh.vic.gov.au