Northern Territory unveils sweeping child-protection law overhaul
Australia's Northern Territory government has unveiled a sweeping reform package for child-protection laws. The plan redefines foster-care practices, child-interest thresholds and intervention procedures. Social workers said they are concerned about the rapid implementation of the reforms.
Australia's Northern Territory government has unveiled a new package of laws that will redefine the child-protection system. The reform changes intervention thresholds, places early family-support programmes in the foreground and makes it compulsory for Indigenous cultural councils to give input on foster-care decisions. The government said the package had been prepared following the case reviews of the past year.
The most controversial aspect of the reform is a fast-track court process for reviewing decisions to remove children from families. The government said waiting times in the current system were too long, and that children 'should not remain in uncertainty'. Organisations representing Indigenous communities said the process should give more space to cultural consultation.
Social-services unions said that infrastructure gaps could create dangers if the reform were implemented rapidly, and called for budget allocations for additional staff and training. The bill is expected to be tabled in parliament next week; the opposition party has called for detailed parliamentary scrutiny. The federal government said it was monitoring the state-level reforms.
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