The wellbeing of 103 Indigenous children and young people is being urged as the top priority after a NSW Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisation and foster care provider's out-of-home care accreditation was cancelled.

Last week, the state's Children's Guardian cancelled the Penrith-based Narang Bir-rong Aboriginal Corporation's (NBAC) accreditation, effective immediately.

In separate processes, the organisation had recently been notified of the Department of Communities and Justice's plans "to wind-down its contract due to performance issues", NSW Minister for Families and Communities Kate Washington said on Tuesday.

The Minister also said: "Accountability and transparency is a non-negotiable when it comes to caring for NSW's most vulnerable children".

The decision comes after allegations of a "toxic" workplace culture as well as misconduct and inappropriate behaviour by Narang Bir-rong's former chief executive, which were reported in 2025.

Its former chief executive Heidi Bradshaw was stood down last year.

National Indigenous Times does not suggest the conduct occurred, only that allegations were made.

The NBAC board, speaking on behalf of the chief executive, denied the allegations at the time, saying all matters had been investigated which were deemed to "have no basis or have been resolved to the board's satisfaction," The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

On Friday, NSW's peak for Aboriginal children and families AbSec called for urgent action for the wellbeing of the young people impacted.

NBAC handled foster care and case-management for 103 children and young people in out-of-home care, primarily in the western Sydney region.

AbSec said its immediate concern is the safety, stability and cultural connection of every child and young person affected, while calling on the Department of Communities and Justice to "act swiftly" and ensure case management transfers maintain the children's connection to family, community and culture.

The peak acknowledged the Children's Guardian's decision.

It also warned "the decisions made in the coming days and weeks will have lasting consequences for these children's lives, and they must be made with that gravity in mind".

Following the cancellation of NBAC's accreditation, case management would be transferred back to the Department.

"The immediate priority of the Department of Communities and Justice is the safety and wellbeing of the children and young people involved, and supporting their foster and relative/kinship carers to continue their important roles" Minister Washington said in their statement on Tuesday.

AbSec called on the Department of Communities and Justice to:

- Prioritise the transfer of case management to local ACCOs wherever possible, in line with DCJ's stated commitments to the Aboriginal community-controlled sector

- Ensure every placement decision made during the transition fully complies with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle

- Communicate directly and transparently with the children, young people, carers and families affected

- Engage AbSec and relevant ACCOs as partners in the transition process, not as an afterthought

- Provide a clear public account of how the Principle will be upheld throughout this process

"We acknowledge the Children's Guardian's decision and the seriousness with which it has been made. Our focus now is entirely on the children and young people in care — 103 Aboriginal kids whose lives must not be further disrupted by what happens next. The responsibility on DCJ to get this transition right cannot be overstated," AbSec chief executive John Leha said.

"DCJ has made clear commitments to building and strengthening the Aboriginal community-controlled sector. Those commitments must be honoured right now, in this moment.

"Every effort must be made to transfer the care and case management of these children and young people to ACCOs in their local area — organisations that understand their communities, their families and their culture.

"Placing Aboriginal children with non-Aboriginal providers or moving them away from Country is not an acceptable default. This cannot end with our kids falling through the cracks again."

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP) is a framework, shaped by First Nations leaders and community-controlled child welfare organisations, designed to ensure Indigenous children placed in child protection systems retain connections to family, community and culture.

The Principle includes five key elements - including a hierarchy of placement priorities "when a child cannot remain safely at home" as outlined by SNAICC.

The hierarchy is; with a relative or extended family member, with members of the child's Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community, with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander family-based carer.

The frameworks says any other arrangement should be a last resort.

Mr Leha said "the research is unambiguous".

"Aboriginal children who grow up knowing their culture, their Elders and their Country are healthier, stronger and better supported into adulthood. Every placement decision made during this transition must start from that truth," he said.

National Indigenous Times contacted Narang Bir-rong Aboriginal Corporation for comment.