New child removal protections passed but NSW minister says more can be done to end Indigenous ‘over representation’

In the 2019-20 financial year, more than 6,600 Aboriginal children in NSW were in ‘out-of-home care’, accounting for 41% of all children in the system. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

The minister responsible for child services in New South Wales says she wants to do more to address the “over representation” of Aboriginal children removed from their families, acknowledging the community’s frustration at the slow pace of reform.

On Thursday, the government passed a new bill that requires social workers to prove they have made “active efforts” to keep families together before courts can approve the removal of children from their parents.