Aboriginal Child Placement Principle SA: What Every Foster Carer Needs to Know

Aboriginal children are significantly over-represented in out-of-home care in South Australia. This is a well-documented fact that carries an equally significant legal and ethical obligation for everyone involved in the system — including foster carers.

If you are considering fostering in SA, particularly in regional areas like the Flinders Ranges, Far North, or Eyre Peninsula, you may be asked to care for an Aboriginal child. Understanding the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle before that call comes is not optional background knowledge. It is a condition of competent carer practice.

What the Principle Is

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP) is a framework that governs where an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child is placed when they cannot safely remain with their family. It has been South Australian government policy for decades, but the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 made it statutory — Section 7 and Section 12 of the Act embed the Principle directly into the legislative framework.

This means it is not a departmental preference that a caseworker can set aside when it is inconvenient. It is a legal obligation that the DCP must follow.

The Placement Hierarchy

When an Aboriginal child cannot safely remain with their parents, the Act requires that placement preference be given in this order:

1. A member of the child's family or extended family
2. A member of the child's community who has an existing relationship with the child
3. A member of the same language or regional group as the child
4. Another Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person
5. Only if none of the above are available and it is in the child's best interests: a non-Aboriginal carer

This hierarchy exists because the disruption of an Aboriginal child from their family, community, country, and culture is understood — legislatively, not just philosophically — as a harm in itself. It is the legislative response to the historical damage caused by policies that removed Aboriginal children from their culture without regard for these connections.

What This Means for Non-Aboriginal Carers

If you are a non-Aboriginal carer and you are asked to take an Aboriginal child, you are generally being asked as a matter of urgency — because the appropriate placement within the hierarchy is not available at that moment, or because an emergency placement is needed while a more suitable placement is located.

This is not a criticism of your suitability. It is the system operating correctly. Non-Aboriginal carers in this situation should understand:

The placement may not be permanent. The DCP will continue searching for an Aboriginal placement even after the child is with you. A child who has been with you for several weeks may be moved to an Aboriginal carer when one becomes available. Knowing this in advance allows you to prepare appropriately and to support the child through the transition rather than being caught off guard.

You have cultural obligations, not just cultural awareness. The difference matters. Cultural awareness means you know that the child has a cultural identity and you respect it. Cultural continuity — which the Act requires — means you actively maintain and support the child's connection to their culture, country, community, and language. This is a substantive obligation, not a symbolic one.

You will work with Principal Aboriginal Consultants (PACs). The DCP deploys PACs to assist caseworkers on placements involving Aboriginal children. PACs provide guidance on cultural matters, connect children with community, and ensure that the Placement Principle is being actively upheld. As a carer, you work with the PAC as part of the Care Team.

Cultural Continuity in Practice

Cultural continuity looks different depending on the child's community and region, but in South Australia it commonly involves:

Maintaining relationships with the child's community. This might mean facilitating contact with extended family members or Elders even where direct parent contact is supervised or restricted. Community connection and family connection are distinct, and the former can often be maintained even when the latter is subject to court conditions.

Supporting participation in cultural activities. Aboriginal children in care in the Flinders Ranges region may be eligible to participate in cultural camps at Iga Warta, a cultural heritage site in the northern Flinders Ranges operated by the Adnyamathanha community. These camps provide children with connection to their country, ochre sites, and Dreaming stories. Non-Aboriginal carers are expected to facilitate and support participation — this means arranging transport, taking time off work, and sometimes participating themselves.

Language and identity. If the child's community uses an Aboriginal language or has specific cultural practices around naming, food, or ceremony, you are expected to understand and accommodate these — not simply tolerate them.

Connection to Country. For many Aboriginal children, the concept of Country — a specific geographic and spiritual relationship to land — is central to identity. A child from the Flinders Ranges who is placed in Adelaide is separated not just from family but from Country. Supporting regular returns to Country, where this is safe and court-approved, is part of a carer's cultural responsibility.

The Role of Aboriginal Family Support Services

Aboriginal Family Support Services (AFSS) is the leading Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO) in South Australia operating as an authorised foster care agency. AFSS recruits, trains, and supports Aboriginal carers, and provides specialised cultural support for placements involving Aboriginal children.

AFSS operates from offices in Adelaide, Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, Ceduna, and Mount Gambier. For non-Aboriginal carers who are caring for an Aboriginal child, AFSS workers may be involved in your Care Team as a cultural resource, even if AFSS is not your primary agency.

In the NPY Lands (Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands) in the remote north-west, the NPY Women's Council provides Child and Family Wellbeing Services, supporting kinship carers to ensure children remain on country and connected to culture.

If you are preparing to enter the SA foster care system and want a comprehensive guide to the assessment process, carer rights, financial allowances, and the agency comparison — including what the cultural obligations mean for your specific situation — the South Australia Foster Care Guide covers the full system in plain language.

The Forthcoming Changes Under the 2025 Act

The Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Act 2025, which will commence in July 2027, will strengthen these obligations further. Sections 51 and 57 will mandate Aboriginal family-led decision-making processes and family group conferencing before removal orders are sought, with the explicit goal of reducing the number of Aboriginal children entering care.

This reflects growing evidence that the Placement Principle, while legislatively mandated since 2017, has not always been implemented with sufficient rigour. The 2025 Act is designed to close that gap.

Why This Matters Before Your First Placement

Prospective carers who understand the Placement Principle before their assessment are better prepared for two situations that surprise many new carers: being told a placement they accepted may be moved to an Aboriginal carer, and being asked to take on cultural obligations they did not anticipate.

Both of these are easier to navigate when they are not surprises. The principle exists to protect children — specifically, to ensure that the harm caused by removal from family is not compounded by removal from culture. As a carer, understanding this is not an administrative burden. It is the foundation of a genuinely child-centred approach to the role.

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