Indigenous children in the Australian capital of Canberra are highly overrepresented in the child protection system, according to this article from the Canberra Times. "Fewer than three per cent of children in Canberra are indigenous but they make up about a quarter of kids in the child protection system," writes the author. The numbers of indigenous children in the care system have been increasing, growing by 40 percent over the past five years, even though "in 2017 the amount of substantiated child abuse reports as well as the overall number of kids receiving protection services fell for the first time since 2014."
In response, the government has announced a review, led by a former public servant, Barbara Causon, which will examine this overrepresentation. The review is expected to run until September 2019 but will produce a preliminary report later this year. The review will present an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to "have a real say in how to improve outcomes" and address the "alarming number of our kids involved in the child protection system," according to Ms Causon.