This, and the continued growth of over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care, including foster care, is revealed in the 2019 Family Matters report released last week.

Kristen Gray is a Yuwaalaraay and Muruwari woman. She and her sister were removed from the care of her Aboriginal mother when she was two. She was never returned to her mum's care and grew up with non-Indigenous parents.

Kristen was placed with 10 families between the age of 15 and the end of school.

Government departments and case workers placed a low priority on keeping her connection to kin and country, or identifying her cultural group. She still has questions unanswered, but was one of the lucky ones. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have 20 or more placements during their childhood.

Through determination, Kristen became a lawyer and is now working in Indigenous human rights.

Once again, this year's Family Matters report highlights the situation for many people like Kristen. It shows that children continue to enter statutory child protection systems at a greater rate, stay longer and are reunified with their parents far less frequently.

We have seen for too long that many people have become desensitised to the realities that it represents for children. More than 20,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children live in out-of-home care. The majority will go to bed tonight in a place that is not their own, disconnected from kin, country and culture. This is unacceptable.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to experience unacceptable levels of social disadvantage, and poorer outcomes in every area of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These numbers continue to escalate due to insufficient attention and action by Australian governments to prioritise and pursue a child rights agenda.

The tendency to deflect responsibility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to states and territories, because of their role administering statutory child protection systems, diverts our attention and focus to the wrong end of the continuum. The solution cannot be found there.

READ MORE:

While women and children continue to experience disproportionate rates of domestic and family violence, these numbers will continue to grow. Until Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families enjoy equitable access to universal services and targeted supports we should not expect these numbers to change.

The Family Matters Roadmap, released four years ago, continues to offer a way forward. It is rights-based, backed by evidence and works. The building blocks provide a firm foundation for achieving change, addressing structural reform and promoting programs that will enable a generation of children to grow up safe, well and connected to kin, country and culture.

In jurisdictions that have created space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and community-controlled organisations to lead reforms, we are seeing glimpses of change.

This year's Family Matters report puts a spotlight on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations across Australia that support children and families to be strong and healthy.

These include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led early intervention and prevention services in Queensland.

Investment must be made in the future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children. This cannot be done by perpetuating the status quo. It is a collective challenge for all governments today, and must become the mandate for tomorrow.