The NSW Families, Communities and Disability Services Minister has been accused of breaching his duty of care over a young Aboriginal boy's welfare after it was revealed the 12-year-old had spent more than 300 days living alone in an apartment.
The boy is one of 91 children in the state living in alternative care, an "emergency and temporary" situation where no suitable foster carer, family member, or other care environment can be arranged.
Forty-seven per cent of those children are Indigenous.
Dr Paul Gray, who leads the Indigenous Child Protection Hub at University of Technology Sydney, said the long-standing use of alternative care is "deeply concerning".
"When the state intervenes to remove children from their family, they have to be able to do better than isolating children in a hotel room," he said.
"The child protection system is broken, and Aboriginal children disproportionately suffer the consequences."
At a state parliamentary hearing on Friday, minister Alister Henskens was asked for a cost breakdown of how much of the government's budget was spent on early intervention, compared with the removal of children from their families.
Mr Henskens was unable to answer and took the question on notice.
"Aboriginal communities and advocates have constantly pleaded with governments to invest in prevention and early intervention, but these important services continue to be under-resourced, with very few designed by and for Aboriginal people," said Dr Gray.
CEO of AbSec John Leha agreed, saying the continued use of alternative care showed the sector's resources need to be redirected.
"There is a serious need for the focus of the system to shift from the crisis end of the spectrum to supporting families with early intervention and other necessary services."
A 2019 review into Aboriginal children and young people in out-of-home care, the 'Family is Culture' report, made more than 100 recommendations for the sector, including consulting with Aboriginal organisations on the ground.
Almost two years on, the recommendations have been only partially implemented, or not at all.
Mr Leha blamed a lack of accountability on the part of NSW's child protection system.
"The government agrees that the rate that Aboriginal children are being removed from their families is unacceptably high, yet we are still waiting for them to come to the table and meaningfully engage with Aboriginal communities on the changes that are required to prevent this," he said.
"The system is in crisis, and the sector is crying out for significant reform to focus on keeping Aboriginal children safe and connected to their culture, community and kin.
"If we keep going down this path, it will lead to worse outcomes for a generation of our kids."
