Aboriginal Representative Organisations

Aboriginal Representative Organisations Program

The Department of Communities (Communities) is progressing significant legislative reform that seeks to improve child protection decision-making processes by ensuring they are culturally informed and culturally safe for Aboriginal children and families.

This reform is underpinned by the State Government’s commitment to Target 12 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, to ‘reduce the rate of over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care by 45 percent’.

On 19 October 2021, the Children and Community Services Amendment Act 2021 (the Amendment Act) received Royal Assent. The Amendment Act includes provisions which, once proclaimed, will provide that Aboriginal Representative Organisations (AROs) must be consulted before the placement of an Aboriginal child in care and be given the opportunity to participate in the preparation of the cultural support plan for the child.

The introduction of AROs aims to strengthen the application of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP) and ensure Aboriginal children in care maintain close connection to family, culture and Country.

To prepare for the proclamation of ARO-related legislative requirements, Communities is developing and testing a specialised service model in close consultation with the Aboriginal community.

Between 1 November 2022 and 31 October 2023, the ARO service model was piloted for 12-months through place-based Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) Yorganop Association (throughout the Armadale district) and Aarnja Ltd. (throughout the Kimberley region).

The aim of the pilot was to test the model’s cultural responsiveness and safety for Aboriginal children and families, and compliance with the provisions in the Amendment Act alongside staff from Communities’ frontline Child Protection services.

Following the Pilot, the State Government committed $1.3 million to continue ARO service delivery in Armadale and the Kimberley region so the service model could be further developed after its initial pilot period. On 9 May 2024, the Department of Communities received confirmation that the ARO Program has been allocated a further $2.85 million over the next two financial years to continue service delivery in Armadale and the Kimberley region.

More information about the ARO Program is available in the Frequently Asked Questions.

ACCO Sector Building Grant Program

In March 2023, the ARO ACCO Sector Building Grants Program (Grants Program) was released. While the ARO Service is only available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the Armadale district and Kimberley region, these grants were intended to support, strengthen and empower prospective AROs to increase readiness of the sector to be more competitive in future tender processes and to carry out ARO legislative functions in the future.

The Grants Program was open to ACCOs that were interested in delivering ARO services and aspired to provide services to Aboriginal people on behalf of the Department of Communities. The Grants Program enabled ACCOs to seek funding for activities to strengthen and build their capacity.

11 ACCOs across the state, representative of both metropolitan and regional locations were successful through the Grants Program, resulting in an investment in the ACCO sector totalling more than $550,000.

The Grants Program concluded on 14 June 2024 and will be evaluated to demonstrate the capacity and strength of the broader ACCO sector to deliver ARO services in the future.

Important note: The following ACCOs were grant recipients only and will be required to compete in future competitive tender processes to deliver the ARO service in their community.