A coalition of legal services is calling on the Northern Territory Government to focus on supporting children and families, rather than kneejerk legislative changes which risk creating another Stolen Generation and further harming a new generation of Aboriginal children.
The coalition, made up of the North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS), the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), Central Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Unit (CAAFLU), Central Australian Women’s Legal Service Inc & Domestic Violence Legal Service (CAWLS), Top End Women’s Legal Service (TEWLS), Katherine Women’s Legal Service (KWLS) and Darwin Community Legal Service (DCLS) are at the coalface working with families in child protection, family law, domestic violence and other matters across the NT.
They say Child Protection Minister Robyn Cahill’s recent commentary in relation to issues in the child protection system again demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the legislation she administers.
On 6 May 2026, Minister Cahill told Sky News Australia that she intends to introduce legislation next week to significantly amend the Care and Protection of Children Act and alter the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP).
Child protection should not be politicised
The coalition says is important to acknowledge and respect the request of Kumanjayi Little Baby’s family for a period of mourning and for her death not to be politicised.
They say this is a time for dignity, cultural respect and restraint. It is deeply disappointing that the Minister has ignored that request.
NAAJA CEO Ben Grimes says: “Genuine and effective child protection reform requires careful consultation with Aboriginal communities, legal experts, frontline services and those with lived experience. It cannot responsibly occur through politically reactive amendments driven by media narratives”.
“Yet despite this, the Minister appears intent on pursuing rapid legislative reform informed by misinformation rather than evidence.
“That should alarm every Northern Territorian.”
The Act already prioritises child safety over culture
In Parliament on 7 May 2026, Minister Cahill said she was “flabbergasted” that “safety” is not mentioned in the principles that underpin the care children should be getting.
This is not a new issue. Earlier public commentary by the Minister repeatedly suggested that the ATSICPP somehow competes with the safety and well-being of children.
That proposition is legally incorrect, the coalition points out.
The Act already makes the best interests of the child the paramount consideration in every child protection decision.
The coalition says the whilst the principles may not use the word “safety”, a key consideration under the Act in assessing a child’s best interests is “the need to protect the child from harm and exploitation”.
Protecting children from harm and exploitation is the core purpose of the legislation.
The coalition says it is deeply concerning that the Minister is proposing changes to the legislation when she clearly doesn’t understand how it currently operates.
The sector says ATSICPP does not displace the best interests principle; it explains how best interests must be understood and applied for Aboriginal children.
The coalition says the law is explicit. Immediate safety comes first. But once safety can be achieved, a child’s connection to family, culture, community and Country must be actively protected, not unnecessarily severed.
The child protection system is failing Aboriginal children, not the ATSICPP
The ATSICPP is a comprehensive framework built around prevention, partnership, placement, participation and connection.
These principles are grounded in decades of evidence showing that Aboriginal children experience better long-term outcomes when they maintain connection to culture, family and community.
Research and coronial findings have consistently identified that instability, disconnection and repeated removals create long-term intergenerational harm
The failures within the Northern Territory child protection system are not caused by the operation of the ATSICPP.
They are driven by chronic under-resourcing, workforce instability, inadequate implementation of existing frameworks and the ongoing failure to properly support Aboriginal-led solutions.
Disclosures of confidential child protection matters must be urgently investigated
The coalition says it is also concerned by the disclosures which have been made in relation to child protection matters, including investigations.
Statement supported by coalition members:
The confidentiality of these matters is central to the integrity of, and public confidence in, the child protection system, and breaches of these confidentiality requirements is a criminal offence under the Act. We trust that there will be a thorough investigation of these disclosures.
Failure to Consult with Aboriginal Communities
The Northern Territory legal services have not been consulted on the proposed Bill.
NAAFLS CEO Cindy Torrens said: “within our sector we have three Aboriginal Community Controlled legal services who are experts in this field. We have not been consulted”.
CAAFLU Acting Principal Lawyer Kim Raine says: “The Little Children are Sacred report was clear nearly two decades ago: solutions must be built with Aboriginal communities, not imposed on them. Yet we continue to see governments acting in isolation, without the genuine consultation that was promised”.
“Until local leaders, families and communities are truly at the centre of decision-making, we will keep repeating the same failures – and our children will continue to pay the price.”
The coalition of legal services firmly says that at this critical moment, the Northern Territory does not need rushed, legislative change fuelled by misinformation and politicisation.
It needs evidence-based reform, genuine partnership with Aboriginal communities and proper implementation of the legal frameworks already in place.
