The Black Peoples Union and Renters and Housing Union have called for the immediate cessation of the eviction of the Beananging Kwuurt Institute by the Uniting Church Australia.

The BKI site in Queens Park in Perth's south-east - formerly known as Sister Kate's Children's Home – holds a painful yet significant legacy for Stolen Generations survivors and their families.

Since a new board established in 2021, BKI has been providing services to Indigenous communities through initiatives such as counselling services and art lessons that foster connection to Country.

The agency has played a role in cultural healing and addressing intergenerational trauma, while BKI operates self-sufficiently, without financial support from the Church.

The Uniting Church Australia has not expressed clear plans for the property's future use.

BPU founder Keiran Stewart-Assheton said the eviction decision by the UCA disregarded the cultural and social significance of the site, and pressing needs of the community it serves.

"The eviction represents a continuation of the colonial injustices that this very site was once complicit in, denying Indigenous peoples a vital space for healing from the trauma caused by colonisation and the church's own actions," he said.

"[The actions] were a stark reminder of how colonial systems persist in dispossessing First Nations people of our sovereign lands and spaces for healing.

"The very institution that caused harm through the Stolen Generations is now evicting a self-sufficient Indigenous organisation dedicated to addressing that harm."

Mr Stewart-Assheton called the decision an affront to justice.

"The Black Peoples Union demands the Uniting Church Australia reverse this decision immediately and urges all conscientious people to intervene," he said.

The Renters and Housing Union echoed the call for urgent action.

RAHU WA delegate Sadie Ward said the eviction, scheduled for Thursday, threatened to dismantle a space that provided essential support for vulnerable people, including youth transitioning out of detention, and material goods such as food for people experiencing homelessness.

"BKI is being kicked out by the Uniting Church, who owns the land and have no plans to continue the service," Ms Ward said.

"BKI runs several vital services, some supporting kids just coming out of Banksia Hill. They provide a lot of support to homeless folks and those doing it tough.

"They offer help and community to any who ask - regardless of race or religious affiliation - and with support could blossom into something incredible."

"We urge immediate intervention from local, state, and federal leaders, Uniting Churches National body, and the local community.

"The fight to protect BKI is part of the broader struggle against systemic oppression and ongoing dispossession of Indigenous peoples."

The Church and the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) cited "differences" with BKI, but did not specify them other than noting some members of BKI publicly campaigned against the Voice using BKI social media.

A UCA statement said "despite significant efforts over a long period of time to achieve the vision of BKI, in May 2024 the UCA made the difficult decision, at the request of the UAICC, to close BKI".

"Differences were highlighted when members of BKI publicly promoted a 'no' vote to the Voice Referendum," it said.

UAICC chairman Reverend Mark Kickett told National Indigenous Times "discrepancies" the two church groups had with some BKI attendees over the issue of the Voice were troubling, and a main reason for enacting its rights under the 'Covenant' relationship to shut its services.

"In terms of the 2021 board, one of the things that really disturbed us was the supporting of the 'No' vote [in last year's Voice to Parliament referendum], when Congress had made a clear statement around its support of the 'Yes' vote, along with the Uniting Church," Reverend Kickett said.

"We felt the relationships between the [BKI] board and Congress were just moving in different directions."