Aboriginal Organisations and OCG Accreditation: Where Do We Stand While the System Reforms?

OCG accreditation and a system that keeps promising to change

Woka Walanga is an Aboriginal-led organisation pursuing OCG accreditation for statutory out-of-home care in NSW. We started this process before the March 2026 reforms. We are still in it.

In March and April 2026, the NSW Government announced what it described as the most significant reforms to the OOHC system in decades. $350 million to 22 Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations. An ACCOs-first model being legislated. DCJ taking back direct control of residential care and winding down NGO-managed contracts.

It is a significant announcement. I have followed AbSec's response closely. The honest position is this: the direction is right, the timeline is a problem, and Aboriginal organisations building right now need to understand both.

What the March 2026 reforms actually announced

The NSW Government announced three interconnected changes in late February and early April 2026:

DCJ taking direct control of residential care and winding down the Permanency Support Program contracts. NGO-managed residential care is being phased out. The redesigned system is due by 2030.

An ACCOs-first model being formally legislated. Under this model, Aboriginal children will be placed with ACCOs as the primary option. DCJ steps in for casework only where an ACCO cannot deliver.

$350 million in Family Preservation contracts awarded to 22 ACCOs across NSW, part of a broader $900 million Family Preservation system redesign. Services commence 1 July 2026.

These are real, funded changes. The Family Preservation investment is not a policy statement. It is a contract.

What AbSec said, and why it matters

AbSec CEO John Leha welcomed the funding. He also said what needed to be said.

"Acknowledging a system is broken but saying it will take at least 4.5 years to fix suggests this cohort of young people are not a priority."

He noted that DCJ has had its own ACCOs-first policy since 2019. Seven years. One in five Aboriginal children in OOHC currently has an ACCO providing their casework. Four in five do not. The new ACCOs-first model is being announced as a reform in 2026, but it was already government policy in 2019.

Over the past decade, the number of Aboriginal children in care in NSW has risen by 48%. The state reunification rate sits at 15.2%, the lowest in Australia.

The direction of the reforms is correct. The history of implementation is not encouraging.

The timeline problem for organisations building now

Here is the specific problem for Aboriginal organisations currently in the OCG accreditation pipeline.

The residential care model does not change until July 2029. Home-based care reforms do not come into effect until July 2028. The $350 million Family Preservation investment commences July 2026, but this is prevention and intensive family support, not OOHC placement.

If your organisation is building toward statutory OOHC delivery, residential care, foster care, kinship care support, you are building toward a system that will look significantly different in 2028 and again in 2029 than it does today.

This creates a practical question: what do you build to?

The OCG accreditation standards are not going away

The short answer: build to the current OCG standards. Not because the standards are perfect, but because:

The OCG is not abolishing accreditation. It is strengthening the accountability framework around it.

The standards being enforced today are the baseline. The reforms add to what is expected. They do not lower the bar.

The OCG is currently prioritising accreditation applications from ACCOs and Aboriginal providers. If your organisation is in that category, you are in the priority lane. The queue is shorter than it has ever been.

The standards-in-flux problem is real. An organisation accredited today will need to adapt its practice as the 2028 and 2029 reforms land. That is true. But an organisation that waits until the reforms are fully implemented will have waited until 2030.

What to focus on while you wait for the system to catch up

From our experience building Woka Walanga's accreditation framework and from what the OCG standards actually require, the things worth building now are the things the reformed system will also require.

Governance first. The OCG standards require a capable board with documented governance structures. The reformed system will require this too. Build your board now, get the constitution right, document the decision-making framework. This is foundational regardless of what the reformed system looks like.

Cultural safety as documented practice. Not a policy. Not a section in a manual. A practice embedded in how staff are trained, how placements are assessed, how cultural support plans are built with community input, how connection to Country is maintained. This is what differentiates an ACCO-accredited provider from a mainstream provider with a cultural safety policy.

Community relationships you can name. The OCG will want to know that your organisation has real, named relationships with Aboriginal elders, community leaders, and organisations in the communities you serve. Not a partnership statement. Names and documented involvement.

Policy framework built to standard. 91 documents is not a number I made up. That is the scope of the policy framework Woka Walanga has built. Some of it was painful. None of it was optional. Build it properly the first time, because getting audited on a policy that was written to look right rather than work right is worse than not having the policy at all.

Workforce with the right checks. Working with Children Checks, NDIS Worker Screening where applicable, documented recruitment and screening processes. The reformed system will require this. The current system requires this.

Where the accreditation process sits in the reform context

The OCG is prioritising ACCO and Aboriginal provider applications right now. This is a direct response to the shortage of Aboriginal-led placement options, a shortage that every review of the NSW OOHC system has identified.

The March 2026 reforms are designed to increase the supply of ACCO-led services. The OCG accreditation priority is one mechanism. The $350 million Family Preservation investment is another.

For an organisation like Woka Walanga, the reform environment is not a reason to wait. It is a reason to keep building.

The system is slowly moving toward what it should have been years ago. Aboriginal children in care right now do not have the luxury of waiting for the 2029 redesign. The organisations that are ready when the reform lands are the ones that started building before it was announced.

What we have observed from inside the pipeline

I am not going to pretend the OCG accreditation process is easy for a small Aboriginal organisation with limited staff and no institutional history. It is not.

The standards were written for organisations with compliance teams. The documentation requirements assume you have the infrastructure to build, review, and audit 91 policies. The audit process is not designed with the resource constraints of a small ACCO in mind.

What I have found is that the OCG is willing to work with organisations that demonstrate genuine intent and genuine community grounding. The standard is high. The pathway is not impossible. What makes it possible is starting before you think you are ready, asking for guidance when you are stuck, and building actual capability rather than the appearance of it.

The other thing I have found: the community relationships matter more than the documents. The documents are necessary but not sufficient. An organisation with genuine roots in its community will be able to build the documentation to demonstrate it. An organisation that builds the documentation first and tries to retrofit community relationships afterward is doing it in the wrong order.

The honest position on where things stand

The reforms are real. The timeline is slow. The shortage of ACCO-accredited providers is acute. The OCG is actively prioritising Aboriginal organisations. The direction of the system is toward what these organisations have been building toward.

For anyone building an Aboriginal organisation for OOHC delivery right now: the window you are in is a genuine priority window. The system is not going to stay this way. When the reformed structure is fully in place, the accreditation lane will fill up. The advantage of building now is that you are ahead of the queue when the system is ready for you.

That is the honest assessment from inside the process. Not optimism. Not despair. Just the position of someone who is building, watching, and adjusting as the ground shifts.

If you are an Aboriginal organisation navigating OCG accreditation while the system reforms, DM me on LinkedIn. I am in the same position. Happy to share what we have learned and what we are still figuring out.

Frequently asked questions

What is OCG accreditation and why do Aboriginal organisations need it?

OCG accreditation is the licence from the NSW Office of the Children's Guardian that allows an organisation to deliver statutory out-of-home care services. Without accreditation, an organisation cannot legally accept placement of children under court orders. For an Aboriginal-led organisation wanting to provide ACCO casework and placements, OCG accreditation is the entry requirement.

Are the OCG accreditation standards changing because of the March 2026 reforms?

The OCG standards are being strengthened, not replaced. The accountability framework around them is changing, particularly regarding ACCOs and culturally safe practice. Organisations that build to the current standards are building a foundation that the reformed system will also require. Waiting for the reforms to fully land before applying means waiting until 2029 or later.

Is the OCG prioritising applications from Aboriginal organisations?

Yes. As of 2026, the OCG is prioritising accreditation applications from ACCOs and Aboriginal providers. This is a direct response to the documented shortage of ACCO-accredited placement options for Aboriginal children in OOHC. Small Aboriginal organisations in the pipeline should take advantage of this priority window.

What does an OCG accreditation application require from an Aboriginal organisation?

The OCG accreditation process requires a governance framework (constitution, board structure, decision-making policies), a full policy suite meeting the OCG Practice Standards, staff with appropriate checks and qualifications, evidence of cultural safety frameworks and community involvement, and demonstrated financial viability. The documentation scope is substantial. Woka Walanga built 91 policy documents to meet the standard.

What did the March 2026 OOHC reforms change for ACCOs?

The March 2026 reforms formally legislated an ACCOs-first model for Aboriginal children in OOHC: ACCOs are the primary option, with DCJ stepping in only where an ACCO cannot deliver. $350 million in Family Preservation contracts were awarded to 22 ACCOs. DCJ is also taking direct control of residential care and winding down NGO-managed PSP contracts by 2030.

Why is AbSec's response to the reforms mixed?

AbSec welcomed the funding and the ACCOs-first model but raised two significant concerns: DCJ has had its own ACCOs-first policy since 2019 without implementing it, and the 4.5-year timeline for the residential care transition signals Aboriginal children in care right now are not a priority. AbSec also called for stronger independent oversight extending to DCJ itself.

How long does OCG accreditation take for a new Aboriginal organisation?

Accreditation timelines vary based on the readiness of the organisation and any gaps identified during assessment. For a new organisation building its policy framework from scratch, the preparation phase alone can take 12-24 months. Working with OCG through a pre-assessment process and being responsive to feedback is the most effective way to reduce the timeline.