Aboriginal children make up 40 per cent of all children in out-of-home care in NSW.Credit:Angela Wylie
Other key initiatives include an independent expert panel to provide culturally-informed policy advice to the government and an Aboriginal Outcomes Taskforce within the Department of Communities and Justice to improve data collection and reporting.
Minister for Families,Communities and Disability Services Gareth Ward said the reforms would be Aboriginal-led.
"All of these things are game-changers for Aboriginal communities,because they put Aboriginal people at the heart of the system to drive reform,"he toldthe Herald.
"This is not the end but the beginning of ongoing consultation,of ongoing discussion and a genuine effort to make things better."
The Family is Culture review by Professor Megan Davis,tabled last October,found that the department had"failed Aboriginal families and children".
The review examined the cases of more than 1100 Aboriginal children entering out-of-home care in 2015-16,revealing"widespread noncompliance"among caseworkers and managers in a system with"little to no accountability".
"In the most egregious cases,children who did not appear to be at risk of harm were removed from their families;the Children’s Court was misinformed about vitally important information;and the location of young people under the care and protection of the Minister was unknown,"the report said.