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Indigenous children throughout Australia remain very significantly over-represented `in care' and in contact with welfare authorities. Their over-representation increases as the intervention becomes more coercive, with the greatest over-representation being in out-of-home care. Indigenous children appear to be particularly over-represented in long-term foster care arrangements. A high percentage of Indigenous children in long-term foster care live with non-Indigenous carers.

Family law plays a role in the `placement and care' of Indigenous children when parenting disputes come before the Family Court of Australia (except in WA where the State Family Court deals with all family law matters) or those lower courts, presided over by magistrates, which have power to deal with them. The parents do not have to be married: children born outside marriage are treated in the same way as children born within a marriage.

The deceased had been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and for driving while disqualified. He was placed in what the Coroner described as an enclosed cell, in which occupant vision is impossible, at around 3.00am and told he would remain there for a period of four hours.

‘This painting is the story of us children coming home’, Chris Mason, 2007 ‘Our totem is the goanna and is culturally significant with the black and white in the centre representing assimilation and how we have learnt to live within the framework of white society. The different shades of colour in the middle show no matter the colour of our skin we are one and do belong. The border represents Link-up who made this story possible and helped bring us home. The red represents our Aboriginal bloodline that links us together.

When I commenced writing this chapter in 2008, Australia did not have a national Indigenous languages policy. However in August 2009, for the first time in Australia’s history, the Commonwealth Government launched a strategy for preserving Indigenous languages: Indigenous Languages - A National Approach 2009 (National Approach). The National Approach sets out the Commonwealth Government’s plan to preserve Indigenous languages through targeted actions. They are:

While feedback in relation to the legal system was actively sought throughout all of the consultations, a number of targeted consultation sessions with individuals and organisations specifically involved or engaged in the legal system were also undertaken. These included:

The Commission received 1937 submissions during the Freedom of Religion and Belief in the 21st century project submission period (17 September 2008 to 28 February 2009). An additional 95 submissions were received after the formal deadline.

No Country Recommendation Response Implementation 1 Republic of Moldova Ratify the OPCAT Accepted Not implemented 2 Azerbaijan Speed up process of ratification of OPCAT Accepted Not implemented 3 Maldives Ratify OPCAT and designate a National Preventive Mechanism Accepted Not implemented 4 New Zealand High priority ratification of the OPCAT and establish a National Preventative Mechanism Accepted ...

The framework of principles presented in chapter 2 of this Report puts the economic and social development of the traditional owner group at the centre of the native title process. It seeks to build the power and capacity of the traditional owner group to direct and achieve its own economic and social development. It sees the native title system as a tool to assist traditional owners in this process. The framework also envisages that other stakeholders in the native title system will assist the group in achieving its goals.

The purpose of this section is to provide a nationally consistent set of requirements for a ‘special measure’ targeted recruitment strategy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The core elements of a special measure are essentially the same under all federal, state and territory discrimination laws. However, the wording of the criteria in the legislation of each jurisdiction differs ...

Key findings of Review The ADF Review found that sexual misconduct – including sexual harassment and, on occasion, sexual assault – existed in the ADF, particularly in male dominated areas. It also found significant underreporting of sexually based incidents from victims because of fear of victimisation; concerns about negative impact on career progression; and personal trauma. The ADF Review ...

Social security is an income support system that acts as a safety-net for people who, for some reason, are unable to financially support themselves. Entitlements to social security are largely governed by the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) (Social Security Act) and the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 (Cth) (Family Assistance Act). The payments are usually administered by Centrelink.

Indigenous mental health is finally on the national agenda. As participants in the National Mental Health Strategy, States and Territories acknowledge the importance of the issue. Some of the effects of removal including loss and grief, reduced parenting skills, child and youth behavioural problems and youth suicide are increasingly recognised.

One of the underlying goals of international and Australian laws relating to children with disabilities is to provide the highest possible level of support and assistance in the least restrictive way. Laws, policies and programs should be designed to ensure that children with disabilities have the opportunity to participate, to the maximum extent possible, in all aspects of the general community.