In May 2019, the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) established the ‘Our youth, our way’ inquiry into the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in Victoria’s youth justice system. The inquiry emerged as part of the work from the Koori Youth Justice Taskforce, a partnership between the Department of Justice and Community Safety and the Commission.
As an Aboriginal child welfare organisation, over-representation is an issue of extreme concern to VACCA given the well-established pathway from OOHC into the justice system. VACCAs submission responds to the questions posed by the Commission includes information and recommendations on what strategies and programs work well in Victoria, what systemic changes are required and how the system could be more culturally appropriate to meeting the needs of Aboriginal children and young people.