The number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in Western Australia has skyrocketed over the past two decades, a new report by Human Rights Watch reveals.

The report released by the international watchdog on Thursday noted that while in 2003 there were 570 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in WA, comprising about 35 per cent of the total children in care, by 2023, the number had risen to 3,068 children, constituting 59 per cent of all children in out-of-home care.

Despite Aboriginal children making up only about seven percent of Western Australia's total child population, they now represent a majority in the state's care system, Human Rights Watch said, noting that the state has the highest rate of overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care of any state or territory in Australia, with Aboriginal children more than 20 times more likely to be living in out-of-home care than non-Indigenous children.

The 86-page report, All I Know Is I Want Them Home: Disproportionate Removal of Aboriginal Children from Families in Western Australia, examines the circumstances of Aboriginal children removed from their parents by WA's Department of Communities to be placed in out-of-home care.

Human Rights Watch, working with Indigenous-led WA organisation National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project, interviewed 33 Aboriginal parents from whom the department had removed more than 100 children (the average parent interviewed had three children removed); four Aboriginal children who had been removed from their parents; three Aboriginal young adults who were removed from their parents as children; and 13 grandparents whose grandchildren had been removed from their adult children's care.

Human Rights Watch also interviewed two Aboriginal mothers whom the Department of Communities investigated but whose children they did not remove.

The organisation did not receive a response to a letter it sent to WA's Department of Communities with questions relating to its findings.

The Department, which in Western Australia is responsible for out-of-home care, investigates families and removes children when they suspect harm is taking place or is likely to take place.

Among the families interviewed, domestic violence was the most common reason cited for the department removing their children. This aligns with the Department of Communities' own data. Human Rights Watch found that the government provided inadequate housing for domestic violence survivors.

Some women described fearing a "victim-blaming" approach from department case workers. Several said that they stayed in abusive relationships because they were afraid the department would remove their children if they sought help. Some women avoided seeking medical assistance after incidents of domestic violence because they were afraid they would lose their children.

Some policy documents on neglect seemed to treat a lack of adequate housing – a symptom of poverty – as neglect, Human Rights Watch said.

"Aboriginal families are struggling with unstable accommodation, yet a secure home – one of the most fundamental needs for a child to thrive – is denied to them," said Marianne Headland Mackay, a Noongar woman and National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project support coordinator.

"Instead of offering support to struggling families, the government's approach is to remove children, causing more damage and deepening the wounds in our communities."

The Western Australian government has failed to address harm caused by the Stolen Generations, Human Rights Watch found, noting that Stolen Generations survivors in the state were never provided redress.

Many families interviewed said they were descendants of Stolen Generations survivors. One grandmother revealed that her family had endured six generations of child removals.

Despite having the highest overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in its care system, Western Australia spends the least of any state or territory on family support programs. It allocates less than five per cent of its child protection budget to such programs, compared with a national average of 15 per cent.

While the stated aim of the child protection system is to protect children from harm, children can be abused in the out-of-home care system. In several cases documented, children experienced sexual, physical, and emotional abuse in out-of-home care.

HRW noted that: the Western Australian government should ensure families have access to adequate support early, including access to legal representation; the government should guarantee that First Nations people are central to decision-making on child protection policy; and the government should establish a commissioner to initiate inquiries, and receive and determine individual complaints relating to Aboriginal children in out-of-home care.

Human Rights Watch Australian researcher, Annabel Hennessy, said "child protection authorities are removing Aboriginal children from their families at shockingly high rates in Western Australia because of a system that focuses more on policing families than providing them needed support".

"Separating children from their families inflicts lasting trauma and should only be an option of last resort," she said.

"The Western Australian government should urgently address and end these failed, punitive policies that result in removing Aboriginal children from their families and communities.

"A complete system overhaul is long overdue, and should start with a new state commissioner for Aboriginal children and young people with powers to investigate out-of-home care complaints."

Human Rights Watch also produced a short documentary featuring parents and children, as well as National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project director, Noongar justice advocate Megan Krakouer.

In response to the report, Catherine Liddle, chief executive of SNAICC – National Voice for our Children, said the WA government had "a comprehensive plan to address the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children - but they had yet to implement it".

"We commend the WA government for collaborating with Aboriginal communities and organisations to develop the WA Roadmap: 10-Year Roadmap Project to Reduce the Number of Aboriginal Children in Care (the Roadmap) but it's past time they implemented it," she said.

"The Roadmap is a comprehensive way forward, ensuring a whole-of-government and community approach to addressing key drivers that contribute to children coming into contact with the child protection system - issues such as poverty, housing insecurity and homelessness, family and domestic violence, a lack of culturally appropriate family support services, and institutional racism.

"This government has left a landmark strategy to address this issue sitting on a shelf while the rate of over-representation in the state has continued to worsen."

Ms Liddle said the Roadmap addresses many of the challenges outlined by the Human Rights Watch report, including calling for investment in early intervention and prevention services.

"Last year, WA only invested 4.4 per cent of child protection funding into family support services that can play a strong role in preventing the removal of children, while keeping them safe," she said.

"Despite the government's commitment to finalise the Roadmap in 2024, we have seen no progress and it's our children who are paying the price.

"It is also deeply concerning the HRW report shows authorities are failing to keep mothers who are experiencing domestic violence safe and are instead worsening their trauma by removing children."

Ms Liddle noted that the Human Rights Watch report makes it clear that "to turn the tide" of child protection in the state, the WA government must finalise the promised Roadmap to reduce the number of Aboriginal children in care.

"We call on the Cook government to take heed of this report and follow through with their commitments to Closing the Gap, and most importantly, to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families," she said.

A spokesperson for the WA Department of Communities told National Indigenous Times the department is "committed to keeping children safely at home with their families, where this is possible".

"A recommendation to bring a child into care is only made as a last resort and the final decision always rests with the Children's Court," they said.

"The state government has invested record funding into early intervention and family support services, with a focus on addressing the overrepresentation of Aboriginal families in the child protection system. This includes programs such as the Aboriginal-in-Home Support Service, Aboriginal Family Led Decision Making Pilot, Aboriginal Representative Organisations Pilot Program and Dandjoo Bidi Ak which are all either led or run in partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations.

"The Department of Communities (Communities) is guided by section 7 of the Children and Community Services Act 2004 (the Act), which states the best interests of the child are paramount when performing a function or exercising any powers under the Act."

The spokesperson said that from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023, 86 per cent of all children referred to the Aboriginal In-Home Support Service (AISS) "remained safely at home with their families for the 12-month period following engagement".

"Rates of reunification have also been steadily increasing, reaching 81 per cent in the last reporting year," they said, and noted that the WA government - alongside the federal, territory and all other state governments - launched a Partnership Agreement with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership Group to implement Safe and Supported: The National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2021-2031 in March 2024, a 10-year strategy to improve the lives of children, young people and families experiencing disadvantage or who are vulnerable to abuse and neglect, with a specific focus on reducing the number of Aboriginal children in out of home care.

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