This research report reviews the child protection and adoption policies in Australia and the long-term plan of the New South Wales (NSW) government "to restructure the operation of the child protection system to increase sustainability and improve performance by achieving permanency for more children." The report presents the three primary elements of the plan ("The Safe Homes for Life," "Their Futures Matter," and the ‘Permanency Support Program) and assesses these elements. "The national significance of the NSW reforms cannot be overstated," reads the report. "The changes to child protection services in NSW constitute a blueprint for genuine systemic change across the full service spectrum, designed to Resetting the Pendulum: Balanced, Effective, Accountable Child Protection Systems and Adoption Reform in Australia | 3 address the unsustainable trajectory of OOHC services. Perhaps even more importantly, the balanced, effective and accountable system being pioneered in NSW also marks a turning point in the contentious debate about child protection and adoption. If the NSW reforms are emulated, this will allow other state and territory governments to successfully negotiate the cultural politics and end the ‘adoption wars’."
