Wungurilwil Gapgapduir Aboriginal Children and Families Agreement

Wungurilwil Gapgapduir, which means ‘strong families’ in Latji Latji, is a tripartite agreement between the Aboriginal community, Victorian Government and community service organisations. It outlines a strategic direction to reduce the number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care by building their connection to culture, Country and community.

Wungurilwil Gapgapduir: Aboriginal Children and Families Agreement and Strategic Action Plan serves as a landmark partnership between the Aboriginal community, government and community services organisations to commit to better outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people.

Wungurilwil Gapgapduir has been developed in consultation with the Aboriginal community, as well as with the input of Aboriginal services and key mainstream child service organisations. The Strategic Action Plan details the steps which the sector needs to take in addressing the over-representation of Aboriginal children and young people in the child protection and out-of-home care systems.

Wungurilwil Gapgapduir has 5 central objectives:

Encourage Aboriginal children and families to be strong in culture and proud of their unique identity
Resource and support Aboriginal organisations to care for Aboriginal children, families and communities
Commit to culturally competent and culturally safe services for staff, children and families
Capture, build and share Aboriginal knowledge, learning and evidence to inform practice
Prioritise Aboriginal workforce capability.

Wungurilwil Gapgapduir is guided by the government’s vision to increase Aboriginal self-determination for Aboriginal people and to ensure that all Aboriginal children and young people are safe, resilient and can thrive in culturally rich and strong Aboriginal families and communities. It follows the department’s release of Korin Korin Balit-Djak in 2017, which serves as a 10-year plan to revolutionise Victoria’s health and human services’ work with Aboriginal communities.

Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos was joined by representatives from the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency, the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare and the Victorian Aboriginal Children and Young People's Alliance to sign the Wungurilwil Gapgapduir: Aboriginal Children and Families Agreement in Queens Hall at Parliament House on 26 April 2018.

You can access the Wungurilwil Gapgapduir: Aboriginal Children and Families Agreement and Strategic Action Plan in the documents section of this page.

Wungurilwil Gapgapduir artwork video

Victorian Aboriginal artist Lee Dorroch was commissioned by the department to produce the artwork for Wungurilwil Gapgapduir.

In the following video, Lee explains the significance of her artwork ‘Biganga’ and the selection of the possum skin cloak as the visual imagery for Wungurilwil Gapgapduir, and its links to Aboriginal healing and welcoming.