Reports & Submissions
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Amplifying Voices
We give voice to children, young people, and families who need it most.
2025 Reports & Submissions
CAFFSA Submission – Joint Primary Health Network and SA Health – Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan
November 2025
CAFFSA’s submission urges the Joint Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan to prioritise the prevention and early response to child maltreatment, given its strong evidence-based link to later mental ill-health and suicide risk. It calls for improved access to early, community-based supports; prioritised responses for children and young people in out-of-home care (especially Aboriginal children); stronger partnerships with NGOs, ACCOs, schools and communities; and greater trauma-informed capability across the system. CAFFSA also recommends better data sharing, coordinated pathways, and meaningful involvement of people with lived experience—including care-experienced young people—across the design, governance and evaluation of the Plan.
Submission – Department of Social Services – A new Approach to Programs for Families and Children Consultation
November 2025
CAFFSA welcomes DSS’s reform direction, particularly the move toward relational contracting, longer-term agreements, and a stronger focus on early support and prevention. The submission highlights critical issues needing attention, including workforce stability, financial sustainability for providers, fragmented federal–state service pathways, and substantial unmet need for early support. It strongly supports expanding ACCO leadership but raises concern that shifting funds from existing NGOs—rather than investing new resources—will reduce service capacity and limit genuine choice for Aboriginal families. CAFFSA urges DSS to commit to an equitable, well-funded transition, strengthen community-led and culturally safe service design, improve integration of programs and data, and adjust the proposed reform timeline to avoid service disruption, especially in rural and remote areas.
Submission – Draft South Australian Public Health Plan 2025–2030
November 2025
This submission urges the government to recognise child maltreatment as a major public health issue and a preventable cause of harm. It calls for strengthened supports for children and families through early intervention and culturally led, trauma-responsive approaches. It recommends alignment with key reforms and evidence, and responses that build on what is already working in South Australia. It also calls for a well-supported community services sector, including NGOs, ACCOs and lived-experience practitioners, noting their central role in prevention, healing and recovery, particularly for families experiencing cumulative adversity. It concludes that supporting children and families early delivers long-term benefits for public health, equity, community wellbeing and economic outcomes.
South Australia in Focus Report – Child Protection and Out-of-Home Care Trends and Opportunities
November 2025
In 2025, Child and Family Focus SA commissioned a data-driven report examining South Australia’s child protection and out-of-home care systems using national datasets. The report integrates multiple perspectives into a single analytical framework to assess how family support and child protection systems function. It emphasises genuine partnership and is the result of collaboration between CAFFSA, Lumenia, government, and community partners, acknowledging contributions of expertise and lived experience. The shared goal is to build systems that are effective, equitable, compassionate, and that center the wellbeing, safety, and rights of children and families
By comparing our progress over time and with other jurisdictions through transparent, accessible data, we aim to identify where we are making real progress and where focused attention is required. The South Australian Child and Family Services Responsiveness Index provides a shared reference point to guide these conversations and drive informed decision-making.
Submission – Fair Work Commission’s Review of gender-based undervaluation in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services (SCHADS) Award
September 3, 2025
CAFFSA supports the SCHADS Award review but strongly urges an 18–24 month phased rollout, updated costings, and clear guidance to both recognise the administrative burden of changes and avoid misclassification and workforce disruption. The submission calls for recognition of lived experience and cultural knowledge and the particular concerns re workforce in rural and remote communities. Alignment with social work registration, and fair treatment of admin roles. It stresses the need to protect staff morale, ensure gender equity (which CAFFSA questions may not be assured under current proposals), and provide consistent, transparent transition processes.
CAFFSA, The CREATE Foundation and The Reily Foundation Joint Submission – Proposed Carers Recognition (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2025
August, 2025
The submission highlights the need to recognise and support informal kinship carers in South Australia. This joint submission outlines the contributions of informal kinship carers, demonstrating the benefits they provide to the community and the ways that supports will benefit them and the children in their care.
Submission – The Office of the South Australian Attorney – General on the Criminal Law Consolidation (Street Gangs) Amendment Bill 2025
June 30, 2025
This submission provides recommendations to the Office of the SA Attorney-General in relation to the draft Criminal Law Consolidation (Street Gangs) Amendment Bill 2025, focusing on its potentially harmful impact on children aged 10–17. CAFFSA supports SACOSS’s detailed analysis and shares concerns that the Bill, designed for adult offenders, risks over-criminalising young people and entrenching harm rather than reducing offending.
Submission – Select Committee on the Residential Tenancies (Minimum Standards) Amendment Bill 2024
June 27, 2025
This submission stresses the urgent need for safe, stable, and affordable housing for vulnerable South Australian families. It welcomes the Residential Tenancies (Minimum Standards) Amendment Bill 2024 but highlights that it does not tackle housing affordability, a major barrier for families involved with child protection and family support. CAFFSA calls for prioritised housing access for care leavers, families escaping domestic violence, and parents working toward reunification with their children.
Statement – Social Workers Registration (Commencement of Act) Amendment Bill 2025
June 5th, 2025
CAFFSA welcomes the Minister for Child Protection’s decision to defer the commencement of the Social Workers Registration Scheme, allowing time to address its complexities and impacts. The decision reflects sector concerns about registration pathways, recognition of experience, particularly for Aboriginal practitioners and the risk of losing skilled staff due to retraining requirements. CAFFSA thanks the Minister for listening, supports the creation of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee, and remains committed to ongoing engagement to ensure a balanced, inclusive scheme.
Statement – Passage of the Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Bill 2024
June 5th, 2025
CAFFSA welcomes the passage of the Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Bill 2024, highlighting its reforms to amplify children’s voices, strengthen reunification, and support care leavers. While welcoming these gains, CAFFSA will continue to advocate for the best interest’s principle and other priorities not included in the Bill. CAFFSA commits to continuing advocacy, including with Aboriginal community leaders, to keep these priorities front and centre. The focus now shifts to effective implementation and evaluation, ensuring reforms truly benefit children, young people, and families.
Submission – Inquiry into the prevalence and effectiveness of programs in preschools and schools to ensure children and young people don’t go hungry during the day
June, 2025
This submission calls for a Food Security Strategy that goes beyond delivering universal school meal programs to include a focus ontackling poverty, and expanding year-round supports like Foodbank hubs. The submission highlights the severe impact of hunger on children’s learning and wellbeing and urges co-designed, well-resourced, stigma-free solutions for vulnerable families.
Submission – Proposed amendments to the Education and Children’s Services Act 2019
June, 2025
This submission responds to key proposed changes to the Education and Children’s Services Act 2019 that impact children and families connected to the child protection system. It focuses only on school enrolment, attendance, and participation in learning programs. CAFFSA also uses the submission to call for a greater focus on the vulnerabilities of children, young people and families and raises broader recommendations based on member concerns, beyond the proposed legislative changes.
Submission – Draft State Disability Inclusion Plan 2025–2029
May, 2025
This submission highlights the intersection of disability, child maltreatment, and child protection, noting that children with disability are over-represented in notifications, removals, and out-of-home care. It recommends prioritising parents and carers with disability, strengthening early intervention and foundational supports, and improving access to assessments, therapies, and transition planning. The paper calls for outcome-focused measures, annual reporting, and cross-agency accountability to prevent unnecessary child removals, improve long-term wellbeing, and achieve genuine inclusion.
Submission – Carer Payments Review
April 30, 2025
This submission advocates for improved support and equitable treatment for foster and kinship carers in South Australia.
Submission – National Out of Home Care Standards Review
April 30, 2025
This submission advocates for a child-centred, rights-based framework to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and young people.
It calls for co-design with lived experience voices, embedding children’s rights and the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle, prioritising relational continuity, identity, and supported reunification. The submission emphasises accountability, holistic supports, and accessible language, ensuring the standards meet the needs of diverse groups and promote long-term well-being.
Submission – Department of Human Services’ draft Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2025-2028
April, 2025
This submission urges stronger suicide prevention by funding early intervention services and prioritising young people in out-of-home care. It calls for youth co-design, inclusion of lived experience in governance, and culturally safe approaches for Aboriginal children. The paper highlights the clear link between childhood maltreatment and suicide risk, stressing the need for integrated, targeted supports.
Submission – Review of Transition to Independent Living Allowance
April, 2025
This submission highlights that the program is failing to meet the needs of care leavers due to its low payment amount, complex application process, and limited awareness among young people and workers. The submission calls for automatic eligibility, streamlined administration, an increase to reflect real living costs, and measures to promote autonomy and equity, particularly for regional young people. CAFFSA argues that TILA should empower young people to thrive, not merely survive, and should complement state contributions rather than replace them.
Response – Draft Portable Long Service Leave Regulations 2025
April, 2025
CAFFSA’s response asks for clearer rules about what counts as pay, especially for sleepover shifts, allowances, reimbursements, and back payments. It also raises concerns about how employers must keep recalculating long service leave amounts each year for staff who haven’t reached pro-rata, suggesting a simpler one-off payment option. Finally, CAFFSA calls for clear guidance on superannuation and salary sacrifice so employers know exactly what they need to pay.
Joint Statement – Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Bill 2024
Feb 19, 2025
This document outlines the joint position of CAFFSA, Connecting Foster and Kinship Carers, The Reily Foundation, and CREATE on the Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Bill 2024.
CAFFSA Position – Social Worker Registration Scheme
Feb 15, 2025
This document outlines the position of CAFFSA on the registration of social workers in South Australia. While CAFFSA supports qualified social workers becoming registered under a regulatory body, the sector workforce must not be undermined by requiring an increasingly broad range of human service roles to obtain a social work qualification.
Submission – Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Bill to the Select Committee
Jan 13, 2025
This document outlines the position of CAFFSA on the Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Bill 2024 (‘the Bill’). CAFFSA held consultation with members to inform this submission, including a sector consultation via CAFFSA’s Policy and Advocacy Committee, a collaborative meeting with a range of partners via SACOSS and input to our response by our Lived Experience Consultant.
CAFWAA’s Submission – Australian Department of Health & Aged Care’s Request for Sector-Led Advice on the Mental health services for young people aged 12 to 25 years, & potential new and/or refined models of care for mental health services for young people.
May 25th, 2025
This submission was compiled on behalf of CAFWAA by CAFFSA. CAFWAA is Australia’s national peak body promoting the wellbeing of children and young people in out-of-home care, those at risk of placement, and their families. CAFFSA is a member and CAFFSA’s CEO is the Deputy Chair of CAFWAA. CAFWAA’s submission supports Orygen’s proposed principles for youth mental health and calls for them to be fully embedded in practice, emphasising the unique needs of young people with care experience who face disproportionately high rates of trauma and mental health issues. It recommends prioritised access to therapeutic supports through a foster care health care “Gold Card,” reducing stigma, improving service navigation, and ensuring timely, multidisciplinary care. CAFWAA highlights urgent workforce shortages and calls for stronger national workforce planning to ensure trauma-informed, youth-focused, and culturally safe services can be delivered effectively and equitably.
Child and Family Focus SA (CAFFSA) amplifies the voices of children, young people, and families involved in the family support and child protection sectors. We support and represent the not-for-profit organisations dedicated to protecting and nurturing children, young people, families and caregivers in our community.
Child and Family Focus SA
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0473 617 782
‘Reconciliation’ Artwork by Kobe and Hamish Collins Commissioned by CAFFSA 2024.
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- Mental Health Triage – 13 14 65
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Child and Family Focus SA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work, the Kaurna and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty has never been ceded and this was and always will be Aboriginal land.
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