Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families will have access to culturally appropriate Indigenous-specific and mainstream services and care.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Wellbeing Services (FWS)

The majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families in Queensland live safely at home in their community and culture.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Wellbeing Services make it easier for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in communities across Queensland to access culturally responsive support to improve their social, emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing, and build their capacity to safely care for and protect their children.

This includes working with families with diverse needs — from prevention and early intervention support to help families at the earliest possible opportunity, through to intensive support for families already in contact with the child protection system.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children receiving ongoing support

Source: Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services.

What is being counted

  1. Data is at the reference date.
  2. Counts children who are subject to intervention with parental agreement or a child protection order.
  3. If a child is subject to both intervention with parental agreement and a child protection order, they are counted only once in the child protection order category.
  4. Age group: Based on the age of the child at the reference date.

Definition notes

  1. Ongoing support: Ongoing support refers to intervention by Child Safety that occurs with a child and their family following the completion of an investigation and assessment, when it is assessed that a child is in need of protection.

  2. Intervention with parental agreement: Intervention with parental agreement refers to time-limited intensive intervention by Child Safety focusing on the safety, belonging, wellbeing and cultural needs of a child who is in need of protection, without the need for a court order. The child's parents agree to work cooperatively with Child Safety to keep the child safe, and are able and willing to work actively to reduce the level of risk in the home. The aim is to build the capacity of the family so they are able to meet the needs of the child following the intervention.

  3. Child protection order: A child protection order is an order made by the Childrens Court under the Child Protection Act 1999, when a child is assessed to be in need of protection. There are different types of child protection orders, depending on a child and family's situation, including directive orders, supervision orders, custody orders and guardianship orders. 

Percentage of children who did not have an investigation by Child Safety after their Family Wellbeing Service closure

Source: Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services.

What is being counted

  1. Counts all children who had a case closed (where consent was given) with all or majority of needs met who were not subject to a notification within six months of the case closure date (up to the reference date) as a proportion of all children who had a case closed (where consent was given) with all or majority of needs met.
  2. Data for cases closed is for the year ending six months prior to the reference date.

Definition notes

  1. Consent: Once a referral is received by a Family Wellbeing Service the service then work towards gaining consent from the family to begin assistance. Receiving services from a Family Wellbeing Service is voluntary for families and consent is required.

  2. Closed case: Cases are closed when the service has ceased working with the family. A case can close for various reasons including:

    • all or majority of needs were met

    • partial needs met

    • unable to locate family

    • refused support

    • referred

  3. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Wellbeing Service: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Wellbeing Services (FWS) are community controlled family support services that work with families as early as possible, providing tailored, culturally safe support to improve their wellbeing and prevent their problems from escalating.

Time series notes

From 30 June 2022: Data for 31 March 2022 has been revised as a result of refinements to the data extraction process