The Disability Royal Commission will seek to understand the systemic problems experienced by First Nations children with disability in out of home care when it holds its next public hearing, Public hearing 16, from 17 to 24 September 2021.

This is the second First Nations specific public hearing to be held by the Royal Commission. It seeks to plot the life course for First Nations people with disability and their experiences of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, including collective and systemic abuse and neglect by multiple systems over time.

Public Hearing 16 will examine a range of issues including:

• Policy and practices of child protection departments in identifying and diagnosing disability of First Nations children in out-of-home care, including health checks and disability assessments;
• Access to supports and services by First Nations children with disability and their carers in out of home care, including the NDIS;
• Policies and practices with respect to secure care environments and the potential for adverse outcomes for First Nations children with disability in these settings;
• Patterns and trends in the representation and placement of First Nations children with disability in out of home care, including whether these children are more likely to be placed in particular out of home care settings
• Data on the representation and experiences of First Nations children with disability in out of home care;
• Negative outcomes for First Nations children with disability in out-of-home care, including care criminalisation and
• Solutions to address systemic problems experienced by First Nations children with disability in out of home care.

Public hearing 16 was scheduled to take place in Alice Springs (Mparntwe). However, the ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks and resultant border closures means the hearing will now be closed to the public and live-streamed on the Royal Commission website with live captioning and Auslan-English interpreters.

For more information and to watch the live stream, please visit the Disability Royal Commission website.