The new, community-controlled peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in South Australia was launched on Monday, designed as a leading voice for Indigenous children in the state.

Wakwakurna Kanyini, meaning "holding on to our children" in a combination of Kaurna and Pitjantjatjara words, will operate with cultural authority to help improve outcomes for Aboriginal children by prioritising their rights and needs.

Newly appointed inaugural chief executive Ashum Owen said the organisation would be dedicated to driving transformational change to protect the wellbeing and futures of Indigenous children and families in the state.

"The vision for Wakwakurna Kanyini is to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in SA flourish, embracing their culture as proud and confident members of their community," the Kaurna, Narungga and Ngarrindjeri woman said.

"We are committed to advocating for the rights and protection of Aboriginal children, to working to turn the tide of child removal rates, and advocating for the critical role of family and culture in ensuring our children can thrive."

The establishment of Wakwakurna Kanyini came about through a statewide community-designed process - supported by SNAICC - and led by an establishment steering committee comprising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives from South Australia's child and family services sector.

SNAICC chief executive Catherine Liddle said: "This new peak will play a crucial role in representing community-led priorities to the South Australian government to ensure our children grow strong in culture and in their identity and connection to their families."

Ms Owen said Wakwakurna Kanyini would be focused on strengthening the capacity of the Aboriginal community-controlled sector to "deliver vital services to our families in need of support".

"This is integral to better enable the exercise of our right to self-determination," she said.

The safety of Indigenous children in South Australia continues to remain at the forefront of concern, with the latest Closing the Gap data painting a horrific picture.

In 2022-23, 94.1 out of every 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in SA were in out-of-home care (OOHC)—the second highest in the country behind Victoria.

The rate has increased yearly since the new closing the gap agreement was signed in 2020.

Furthermore, on an average day in 2022-23, over 60 per cent of youth detainees in South Australia were Indigenous, despite making up only 4.7 per cent of the youth population.

On Monday, SA Minister for Child Protection Katrine Hildyard said her government was "deeply committed" to ensuring Indigenous children and young people and the establishment of Wakwakurna Kanyini was a "significant step toward positive change" in addressing the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in OOHC in line with Closing the Gap target 12.

"I am really proud of our government's investment in this crucial peak for Aboriginal children and families and very much look forward to seeing its impact into the future," Minister Hildyard said.

However, statements from the SA government put this deep commitment to the care of Indigenous children in doubt when it comes to those in detention.

National Indigenous Times revealed last week Attorney-General Kyam Maher had ignored and failed to reply to Children and Young People Guardian Shona Reid in the almost five months since a report sharing the voices of children and young people in detention was published.

Despite overwhelming medical evidence that the age of criminal responsibility needs to be raised to 14-years-of-age, a SA government spokesperson last week said the government has no policy position to raise the age of criminal responsibility.

It currently sits at 10 in SA, with Ms Reid telling a conference earlier this month that the Labor government had no desire to raise it.