SNAICC warns NT's Every Child Matters Bill will make children less safe

SNAICC, National Voice for our Children has issued a strong warning that the Northern Territory Government's proposed Care and Protection of Children Legislation Amendment (Every Child Matters) Bill 2026 risks making children less safe and fails to address the systemic failures driving the Territory's child protection crisis.

Appearing before a Public Hearing into the Bill, SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle said the organisation strongly opposes the proposed amendments while continuing to advocate for urgent reform of the Northern Territory's child protection system.

"Everyone wants children to be safe. That must be the starting point for this conversation," Ms Liddle said.

"But despite its stated intent, we do not believe this Bill will make children safer. We believe it will exacerbate existing weaknesses in the system and ultimately place more children at risk."

Concerns over the Child Placement Principle

A key concern raised by SNAICC relates to public debate surrounding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, which Ms Liddle said has been widely misunderstood throughout discussions about the proposed legislation.

"To suggest the Principle puts culture ahead of safety is simply wrong," she said.

"The Principle is a child safety framework which recognises that an Aboriginal child's safety and wellbeing are strengthened through connection to family, kinship systems, community, culture and Country."

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle is designed to ensure Aboriginal children maintain meaningful connections to family, community and culture when decisions are made about their care and protection. SNAICC argues that these connections are not separate from child safety but are a critical part of it.

A system harming the children it is meant to protect

Ms Liddle said governments must confront the reality that too many children are being harmed within the very system intended to keep them safe.

She pointed to recent data from the Northern Territory Children's Commissioner, which found that:

• One in three children in care experienced harm; and
• More than a quarter of those incidents involved harm inflicted by a carer.

"If governments are serious about child safety, they must confront the reality that too many children are being harmed by the very system designed to protect them," Ms Liddle said.

"The answer to these failures is not to weaken protections. It is to fix the system."

Bill does not provide a pathway to reform

While SNAICC supports comprehensive reform of the Northern Territory child protection system, Ms Liddle said neither the proposed legislation nor the review process announced by the Government provides a pathway to the structural change required.

The Northern Territory has spent decades receiving recommendations for child protection reform," she said.

"What children and families need now is not another rushed response, but lasting change that addresses the root causes of harm and strengthens families and communities."

SNAICC argues that meaningful reform must focus on addressing the underlying causes of child protection involvement while strengthening families, communities and culturally informed supports.

Call for genuine partnership with Aboriginal communities

Central to SNAICC's position is the belief that sustainable reform can only be achieved through genuine partnership with Aboriginal families, communities and organisations.

"The only way to get this right is to work in genuine partnership with Aboriginal families, communities and organisations," Ms Liddle said.

"If governments are serious about child safety, they must listen to the people who know what children need to thrive."

The organisation is calling for a reform process grounded in Aboriginal leadership, evidence-based practice and long-term investment in family-strengthening approaches, rather than legislative change alone.

As debate on the Bill continues, SNAICC maintains that improving child safety in the Northern Territory will require governments to focus on fixing systemic failures, strengthening families and ensuring Aboriginal communities play a central role in shaping solutions for children and young people.

Read SNAICC’s full media release here.