The purpose of this project was to reimagine kinship care in Victoria by developing an Aboriginal-led model grounded in cultural practices and principles. Led by the Victorian Aboriginal Children and Young People’s Alliance (VACYPA), the project aimed to challenge statutory definitions that limit kinship to narrow Western concepts of family and kinship, instead embedding Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing into all aspects of care.
Over 12 months, VACYPA engaged with 10 regional ACCOs, their staff, and carers/families, under the guidance of a collaborative working group and the VACYPA leadership and board.
This process delivered a co-designed Theory of Change model that highlights the conditions and pathways necessary for Aboriginal-led kinship care. Key recommendations include embedding the Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) framework, resourcing voluntary kinship care as prevention, increasing carer payments and brokerage, clarifying workforce roles, and transferring genuine decision-making authority to ACCOs.
The difference lies in centring cultural authority and lived experience. Consultations revealed that kinship is not simply a placement type, but a continuation of cultural practice, it is protective and preventative. Embedding these voices ensured that the model reflects community strengths and offers a practical and culturally grounded pathway for system reform. Assessment was achieved through alignment with Closing the Gap targets, Yoorrook Justice Commission recommendations, and international human rights frameworks, including UNDRIP and UNCRC.
The lessons are clear: without resourcing, collaborative and cultural leadership, and recognition of cultural definitions of kinship, the current system will continue to undermine carers, staff, and children. However, when ACCOs lead with cultural authority, outcomes improve, children remain connected to family and Country, carers feel supported, and staff are empowered to deliver healing-centred care.
Lived experience was central throughout. Carers and staff shared the realities of underfunding, inequity, and cultural strength, shaping every stage of the model. Their voices ensured that the project was not just about designing a model, but about building a future where Aboriginal children grow up strong in their identity, safe in their culture, and loved within their community.
Laura-Jane Phoenix Singh
Victorian Aboriginal Children and Young Peoples’ Alliance
LJ is an Aboriginal woman, she is VACYPA Aboriginal-led kinship care model project led, she is also Atlantic Fellow at Melbourne University.
