Media Statement from DDHS CEO

Today I have resigned as the Independent Aboriginal Chair of the Northern Territory Children
and Families Tripartite Forum.

I accepted this role in 2023 because I believed the Forum represented an important
opportunity for genuine partnership between the Northern Territory and Commonwealth
government, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and the broader community
sector to improve outcomes for children, young people and families.

As Independent Chair, my responsibility was to facilitate respectful, transparent and good faith
collaboration between all partners. Unfortunately, I no longer believe the conditions exist for
the Forum to fulfil that purpose.

Over the past two years, it has become increasingly evident that the Northern Territory
Government is not committed to genuine partnership with the Forum on significant policy and
legislative reform. Rather than drawing on the expertise of frontline services, Aboriginal
organisations, researchers and practitioners, major decisions have increasingly been
developed within government with limited engagement and little regard for the evidence
presented by those working directly with children and families.

One of the Forum’s key responsibilities was to oversee implementation of the 10-Year
Generational Strategy for Children and Families—a landmark reform arising from the Royal
Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. The
Strategy was developed through extensive consultation involving more than 340 contributors,
including 102 organisations and community groups, and represented a genuine partnership
between government, Aboriginal organisations and the community sector.

The decision by the Northern Territory government in 2025 to discontinue the Strategy
without replacing it with an alternative long-term strategy or governance framework removed
the Territory’s primary mechanism for shared accountability, long-term planning and
collaborative governance for children and families. Since then, significant policy and legislative
reforms have continued to be developed without meaningful engagement through the
Tripartite Forum.

This failure is particularly concerning given that Aboriginal children make up around 90 per
cent of all children in the Northern Territory out-of-home care system. Their profound
overrepresentation demands stronger partnership with Aboriginal communities, not less.

Governments across Australia have committed through the National Agreement on Closing the
Gap and Safe and Supported: The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children
2021–2031 to work in genuine partnership with Aboriginal people, strengthen Aboriginal
community-controlled services, share decision-making and address the underlying social and
economic factors that contribute to child protection involvement. The Tripartite Forum was
intended to reflect these commitments in practice.

Instead, I have witnessed a growing departure from those commitments. The erosion of
genuine partnership is inconsistent with the Closing the Gap Priority Reforms, particularly the
commitment to formal partnerships and shared decision-making with Aboriginal people. It
also risks shifting the focus away from prevention and early intervention and away from
addressing the root causes of child protection involvement, including housing insecurity,
poverty, family violence, health inequity, education and intergenerational disadvantage.

The most recent example is the amendments to the Care and Protection of Children Act NT.
Every witness appearing before the Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee agreed that the
Northern Territory’s child protection system required urgent reform. However, the
overwhelming evidence from frontline organisations, Aboriginal Community Controlled
Organisations, legal experts, researchers and child welfare specialists was that the proposed
legislation should be paused to enable genuine consultation and co-design.

Of the 150 submissions received by the Committee, approximately 120 opposed the Bill or
raised significant concerns. Many argued that, while reform is essential, the proposed
amendments risk increasing government intervention without adequately addressing the
underlying causes of family vulnerability or protecting Aboriginal children’s connection to
family, community and culture.

Despite this breadth of evidence, the legislation was passed this week without any
amendment or consideration of the advice provided through the scrutiny process. During the
Inquiry, members of the Committee also publicly dismissed and, at times, mocked expert
witnesses, including one member describing witnesses as “morally bankrupt”. This does not
reflect the respectful, transparent and evidence-informed decision-making that the Tripartite
Forum was established to promote.

I was also deeply saddened by the recent resignation of Northern Territory Children’s
Commissioner Shahleena Musk. Since her appointment, she has been a strong and independent advocate for the Territory’s most vulnerable children. Her resignation represents
a significant loss for the Northern Territory.

This decision has not been made lightly.

Throughout my career, I have believed that better outcomes for Aboriginal children and
families are achieved when governments work in genuine partnership with Aboriginal
organisations, communities and independent experts. Good policy is strengthened—not
weakened—by listening to evidence, respecting different perspectives and designing reforms
collaboratively.

My decision is ultimately about accountability to Aboriginal children and families. When
Aboriginal children comprise almost 90 per cent of the out-of-home care system,
governments have a responsibility to honour their commitments under Closing the Gap and
Safe and Supported, to share decision-making with Aboriginal people, and to focus on
evidence-based reforms that prevent children entering the system in the first place.

I remain committed to advocating for a child protection system that is evidence-based,
culturally safe and genuinely developed in partnership with Aboriginal people. However, I
cannot continue to chair a partnership forum when the fundamental principles of partnership,
transparency and good faith are no longer being upheld.

More information: Marketing and Communications Manager Eliza Williams –
eliza.williams@ddhs.org.au or 0429 089 172