What We Do / Our Initiatives
Thriving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Initiative
Purpose
Be a partner and ally to First Nations leaders, organisations and communities in their work to transform systems.
Partners
Led by the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak (QATSICPP) with support from Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership, in collaboration with other First Nations organisations, leaders and communities.
Children are sacred and central
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have been nurtured, loved and cared for by their families and communities for millennia.
Children are seen as sacred and central to the life of the community. They are supported at each developmental stage and cared for lovingly by mothers, fathers, grandparents and extended family within intricate kinship systems of connection and support. Children’s positive emotional and social wellbeing is maintained by ongoing connections to Country, kin, culture spirit and ancestors.
The impact of invasion, colonisation and racism has been felt through a loss of traditional practices and has interrupted the handing down of parenting models through the generations. This cumulative intergenerational trauma and fractured connections contributes to over-representation in the child protection system and limits the development and life opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
Healing intergenerational trauma and reclaiming, valuing and applying the ancient wisdom of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child rearing can enable children to thrive.
What's already underway
The initiative is on track to develop a Thriving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children Strategy to:
- Bring people, organisations and sectors together to drive systems change
- Collate ideas and identify barriers and solutions
- Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and catalysts in engaging and leading change
- Facilitate collaborative action, innovation and development at a systems level.
So far this work has included three key steps:
Building coalitions of support to collectively work towards systems change.
Convening knowledge circles in communities across Queensland.
How you can get involved
We invite First Nations organisations, leaders, and allies to join us in this work.
To find out more and talk about ways to get involved, contact TQKP@aracy.org.au.
Keen to jump in and learn more?
Related links & documents
DOWNLOAD
Thriving bubs, Thriving families, Thriving communities - Understanding the levers of change report (QATSICPP 2024)
This discussion paper provides an overview of the early years landscape in Australia and Queensland, with a focus on the policy and systems issues acting to either enable of constrain improved early childhood outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. It will be used by QATSICPP to inform and guide community consultations and in the development of the Thriving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children Strategy.

PDF 1.5MB

OUR INITIATIVES
This initiative is led by the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak (QATSICPP), in partnership with Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership. QATSICPP is the peak body representing, supporting, and advocating for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child and family support sector in Queensland.
The initiative is generously supported by the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation.

WHAT WE DO
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Search the resource library for reports, submission, articles, videos, webinars and more to inspire you and build your knowledge and confidence to create change!
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You should know...

Explainer video: "What surrounds us shapes us"
This short explainer video introduces the Resilience Scale and ARACY’s The Nest framework as models to help understand how experiences and environments shape children’s health and development.

Partnerships charter
Our Charter clearly sets out the partnership’s shared goals, values and ways of working to improve systems for Queensland’s children. We invite you to review the Charter and join us if you support our shared vision for Queensland kids.

Report: Queensland Place-Based Rivermap
The Queensland Place-Based Rivermap proposes systemic actions to support our many place-based initiatives. Let’s work together to create local conditions that are good for families and kids.