First Nations Child Removal Class Action Investigation (SA and VIC)

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ACPP) recognises the importance of connections to family, community, culture and Country in child protection legislation, policy and practice. The five core elements of the ACPP are: prevention, partnership, placement, participation and connection. Placing children into out of home care in accordance with the ACPP revolves around a placement hierarchy:

1. with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander relatives or extended family members/kin;

2. with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander members of the child’s community;

3. with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander family-based carers; and,

4. if the above options are not available, as a last resort, an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander child may be placed with a non-Aboriginal / non-Torres Strait Islander person.

The ACPP is reflected to varying degrees within the applicable State legislation.

It is alleged that the Department has failed to comply with the ACPP in removing First Nations children from their families and/or failing to reunify them with their families.

Being deprived of the opportunity to have connection with extended family, kin and community damages Aboriginal peoples’ connection to culture, and negatively impacts all aspects of their lives. It leads to poor mental health, substance, eating and personality disorders, lower education attainment, higher levels of homelessness, higher rates of chronic health conditions and morbidity and higher suicide rates.

No. Signing up for the class action is confidential, and your details will be kept confidential by Shine Lawyers. They will not be disclosed to the Department (or anyone else) without your express permission.

We understand that in many cases, the Department is alleged to have been removing First Nations children from their families for trivial reasons, which is distressing. However, the reason for the removal (or your interaction with the Department) does not impact your ability to register for the class action. The class action looks at the Departments conduct at various stages and is not limited to removals only. 

We are concerned with the impact of Departments’ policies and procedures on First Nations families before, during and after removal and in the ongoing case management – regardless of reasons for removal.

Unfortunately, Shine Lawyers are unable to assist or advise you with respect to any of your past, present or future interactions with the Department. The purpose of this class action is to shine a light on the injustices that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families are experiencing directly as a result of their interaction with the child protection departments, and obtain compensation for children, parents and family members who we allege have been wronged by them.

No. We recognise that the First Nations kinship system and extended family structure is unique and pivotal to identity formation, cultural understanding and belonging.

As the First Nations family system is different to the nuclear or immediate family structure common in Western society, those vested with the caring responsibility of First Nations children extend beyond the immediate family group and may include aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.

These people, along with others who had the responsibility of caring for a First Nations child who was removed from their care, are eligible to register their interest in the class action.

If you, or someone you know has been impacted by the removal of a child by either:

• the Department of Communities and Justice in New South Wales (DCJ)

• the Department of Communities in Western Australia (DOCS)

• the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing in Victoria (DFFH) and/or

• the Department of Child Protection in South Australia (DCP)

and you don’t identify as a First Nations person/s, our expert abuse law team may also be able to help you with an institutional abuse law claim.

Similarly, if you, or someone you know has suffered mental, physical or sexual abuse by a member of another government department that hasn’t been mentioned, our expert abuse law team may also be able to help you with an abuse law claim.

To find out if you have an eligible claim, use our free online booking tool here.

Any complaint about an alleged breach of human rights or discrimination must first be made to the Australian Human Rights Commission (the AHRC). The AHRC will then investigate the complaint and determine the appropriate next steps. A decision from the AHRC may take a number of months. If the complaint is terminated, the person/s affected by the alleged discrimination may be able to apply to have the allegations decided by the Court, through a class action. While the date the class action may commence is not currently known, Shine Lawyers’ website will be kept up to date with the latest case developments. 

When Governments, large companies or institutions do the wrong thing and people are harmed or suffer loss as a result, an individual can have little to no means of bringing a legal claim.

Class actions are an important mechanism within Australia’s legal system that allow large groups of people to come together to pursue a claim collectively.

For a class action to take place, there are three criteria that need to be met:

1. there must be 7 or more people that have claims against the same defendant; and

2. the claims relate to the same or similar circumstances; and

3. the claim must relate to at least one common issue of law or fact.

For more information about how class actions resolve, click here.

Shine Lawyers is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background or financial situation, has access to justice. We run our class actions in a way that means you are not exposed to any costs or financial risk, so joining a class action will cost you nothing.

When a class action is successful, the legal fees and costs to run the class action are deducted from the settlement amount that is approved by the Court. If the class action is unsuccessful, we will ensure there are no out-of-pocket costs to you.

It can take up to several years for a class action to resolve. The time taken from case commencement through to resolution and settlement administration depends on the particular case, and the nature of the claim.

For more information about class actions and how they work, click here.