The number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in Western Australia has risen dramatically over the last two decades.

In 2003, 570 children or 35% of all children in care were First Nations children. According to a new Human Rights Watch report, by 2023, this number had skyrocketed to 3068 children or 59% of all children forcibly removed from their parents.

To put these statistics into starker relief, WA First Nations children only account for 7% of the state’s child population. Human Rights Watch said these figures mean “Western Australia has the highest rate of overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care of any state or territory”.

“All I Know Is I Want Them Home”: Disproportionate Removal of Aboriginal Children from Families in Western Australia was released on March 26.

It is based on input from 33 Aboriginal families who, together, have had 100 children forcibly removed by the WA Department of Communities. Testimony from grandparents and individuals who have been removed is also included.

The practice of forcibly removing Aboriginal children across the nation has been highlighted in recent years. It mirrors that of the Stolen Generations, the mass stealing of Aboriginal children from the late 1800s until the early 1970s. In an earlier iteration, the highest rates of Aboriginal kids being removed were in WA.

The 1997 Bringing Them Home report identified First Nations child removals as a “genocidal” practice. HRW said a wealthy state, like WA, should be addressing housing and domestic violence — issues it cites as reasons to remove children — at........

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