The Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (VACCA) has welcomed commitments in the Victorian Government Budget aimed at making life easier, safer and more affordable, but called for a shift in funding approaches to centre innovative Aboriginal community-led solutions that lead to thriving communities.
The 2026-27 Victorian Budget includes positive measures for families and communities, but investment in new Aboriginal-led initiatives remains modest relative to the scale of need and the reform required to achieve better outcomes for Aboriginal children, young people and families.
The coming financial year marks the final year of the government’s four-year landmark investment into the Aboriginal Children in Aboriginal Care (ACAC) program.
ACAC delivers critical work to transfer responsibility for Aboriginal children or young people on Children’s Court protection orders to Aboriginal community organisations like VACCA to provide wrap-around services and deliver better outcomes.
VACCA welcomed the Budget’s modest expansion of Victoria’s Community Protecting Boorais, which supports Aboriginal-led alternatives to investigating Child Protection reports.
The community and ACCO sector, along with the mainstream sector, will also benefit from Budget measures such as:
- Fairer indexation of the Carer Allowance to support caregivers;
- An additional two years of funding for Strong Families, Safe Children, Restoring Families to support at-risk children;
- A commitment to build 7000 new social housing homes over 10 years, with 10 per cent to be allocated to Aboriginal people, and the new Rent-to-Buy for First Peoples pilot initiative that will be delivered by the ACCO sector.
However, Victoria will not meet its Closing the Gap targets without greater investment in Aboriginal-led prevention, early intervention and evidence-building initiatives.
These include expanding Aboriginal youth homelessness prevention initiatives for care leavers, scaling successful models that prevent Aboriginal baby removals, broadening Aboriginal-led case conferencing across Victoria, strengthening kinship and family-finding services, and investing in Aboriginal-led practice and development.
“Victoria will not reduce Aboriginal over-representation in the Child Protection system, youth justice system or in family violence without proportionate investment in the Aboriginal community-led models that work and that are necessary for community,” said VACCA’s Acting Deputy CEO Megan Van Den Berg.
Many of the investments announced in the Budget across these systems continue existing programs that were lapsing and continue to favour mainstream solutions delivered by mainstream services or institutions. And they are dwarfed by the level of resourcing for police and prison expansion.
Life won’t be easier, safer and more affordable for Aboriginal Victorians without proportionate investment in Aboriginal-led models of care designed, delivered, evaluated and scaled by ACCOs.
VACCA also welcomed the $5.1 million investment to support coordination and begin implementing Yoorrook Justice Commission recommendations, which will be an important vehicle to progress action.
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Quotes attributable to Megan Van Den Berg, Acting Deputy CEO Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency
“For VACCA to continue to deliver life-changing, holistic and integrated programs that close the gap, a complete reimagining of funding models is required. We know that Aboriginal-led and designed programs do achieve the best outcomes in our communities.”
“Timely access to services and supports – in child and family services; family violence prevention, response and healing; education; homelessness prevention; and crime prevention and community safety – can only be achieved with appropriate funding.”
FOR RELEASE –
Simone Egger - Senior Manager, Communications and Public Affairs
PH: 0472 505 780 E: simone.egger@vacca.org
About VACCA
VACCA, the Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency, is Victoria’s leading Aboriginal child and family services organisation. As the largest organisation of its kind, VACCA has protected and promoted the rights of Aboriginal children and young people, families and community since 1977.