22/03/2026
At TassieCare Services, we stand with the Australian Childhood Foundation in acknowledging a confronting truth, too many First Nations children and young people continue to experience outcomes that are worsening or far too slow to improve.
We are proud of our partnership with ACF and remain unwavering in our commitment to safeguarding children through trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and community-led approaches. We recognise that real change requires more than incremental progress, it demands that we listen deeply, act boldly, and ensure children’s voices are central to every decision that affects them.
Closing the Gap is not a moment: it is a responsibility we carry every day, alongside the children, families, and communities we serve.
Today on Close the Gap Day, we're reminded that progress for First Nations children and young people is not inevitable, it must continue to be fought for. At the Foundation, we acknowledge what the evidence is telling us: too many outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are worsening, stalled, or improving far too slowly. Targets relating to children's development, safety, and wellbeing, including in early childhood, out‑of‑home care, youth detention, and family violence remain well off track, or are worsening. These aren't just numbers, but real children and families in communities experiencing consequences of systems that continue to fail them. Incremental improvements are not enough when the stakes have been so high for so long.
We welcome the establishment of the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People and the appointment of -Anne Hunter as the National Commissioner, and will continue to support the Commission's work. Closing the gap for children and young people requires all of us to join together with sustained action, community‑led solutions, and the courage to enact change to systems that continue to cause harm. As an organisation, we recommit to listening, partnering, and advocating, particularly where children’s voices are missing and where decisions are still made about First Nations children rather than with them. Close the Gap is not a moment, it is a responsibility we carry every day.
