Family-led decision-making approaches with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families

Connections to family and culture are integral to the well-being of Aboriginal children. Australia’s colonial policies of child removal sought to fracture Indigenous Kinship systems and continue to have deep and intergenerational impacts on Indigenous communities. Family-led decision-making approaches are discussed as processes that can encourage participation of Aboriginal families but that are often implemented in systems that continue to fail to recognise Indigenous people’s right to collective self-determination. This chapter focuses on family-led decision-making approaches as a family-inclusive practice in the child protection context. Understanding the context of this practice as it relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities is crucial to developing an understanding of the merits and limitations of approaches taken to family-led decision-making.