NSW Child, Family and Community Peak Aboriginal Corporation AbSe say they have marked National Sorry Day on 26 May and the start of National Reconciliation Week on 27 May with a message that is both reflection and call to action: the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families did not end with the Stolen Generations. It continues every day.
They say, “Sorry Day calls on us to acknowledge the profound harm of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal policies that continue to tear families apart across generations”.
“Reconciliation Week asks us to walk together toward a shared future. AbSec believes these two moments carry a single, urgent truth: there can be no reconciliation while Aboriginal children are removed from their families at a rate 10 times higher than non-Aboriginal children, while more than 6,500 Aboriginal children and young people in NSW remain in out-of-home care (OOHC).
AbSec CEO John Leha says: “Sorry Day is not a moment we observe from a distance. It lives in the families who are still fighting to bring their kids home. It lives in the courtrooms, the caseworker visits, the kids growing up disconnected from Country and community. We say sorry to the Stolen Generations. Yet in the same breath, history is repeating. The answer cannot be more of the same. Aboriginal communities must lead the change for our children.”
Reconciliation must be measured in children kept with family
“National Reconciliation Week 2026 should mean there is a clear roadmap for governments- finally- fully investing in Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), fully implementing the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle, and shifting funding toward early intervention and family support so our children stay safe and together with their families.
“When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are raised strong in identity, connected to family and Country, and surrounded by community, they thrive. When they are not, the consequences ripple across lifetimes and generations.
What AbSec is calling for
“This Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week, AbSec renews its call to the NSW Government to fully resource and implement the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle; massively expand investment in Aboriginal-led early intervention and family preservation; and ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have genuine decision-making authority over the services that shape the lives of our children and families.
“AbSec also calls for the establishment of an independent Child Safety and Wellbeing Commission to give families a trusted place to raise concerns and complaints and to provide oversight and accountability in the NSW child protection system. An independent Commission is essential for transparency, monitoring compliance with the Child Placement Principle, investigating systemic failures, and setting and enforcing standards across the whole system. Without independent oversight, the patterns of harm and removal will continue unchecked.
“AbSec will continue to work alongside its members, communities and partners to drive the systemic reform that Aboriginal children and families deserve – reform that honours the meaning and significance of these days.
About AbSec
“AbSec is the peak Aboriginal organisation in NSW dedicated to empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by advocating for the rights, safety, and wellbeing of our children, young people and families. We build strength and resilience by supporting community-led solutions, shaping policy, and driving reforms that ensure every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child and young person grows up strong in culture and identity”, they say.
Shared decision-making
The NSW Labor government said in a statement: “The NSW Government is committed to work in partnership with Aboriginal organisations, communities, and people to Close the Gap”.
“We know that when Closing the Gap solutions are designed, led, and implemented by Aboriginal people and communities, in partnership with Government, we get better outcomes.
“Our focus is on shared decision-making. Going ‘All In’ can mean taking practical action in your workplace, school, sporting club or community. It can mean attending or holding a reconciliation event, supporting Aboriginal businesses and artists, learning about the history of your local area, listening to Aboriginal voices, or starting a conversation about reconciliation with family and friends.
“Communities across NSW will mark the week with walks, cultural events, language workshops, exhibitions, performances and community gathering. There are dozens of events to get involved in”.
Visit the https://www.reconciliation.org.au website to find an event near you.
Youth jailed without representation
Meanwhile, on the same day, the National Indigenous Times reports, “Children in a jurisdiction’s youth justice system, who are overwhelmingly Indigenous, are going without legal representation and languishing in over-crowded prisons, a parliamentary inquiry has heard”.
“In a letter from federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland to her Northern Territory counterpart Marie-Claire Boothby, revealed in budget hearings on Monday, a series of resourcing concerns about the high incarceration rates of children were outlined.
“Some children were going before courts with no legal representation, which was inconsistent with international obligations including the Conventions on the Rights of the Child, the letter dated May 20 said”.
“The Northern Territory’s Country Liberal government introduced controversial ‘tough on crime’ laws in 2025, which impose a presumption against bail for both adults and children.
“Data from the territory, released in January, showed a 22 per cent surge in those refused bail over a twelve-month period. Prison populations have swelled as a result”.
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