Family life The CRC emphasises the importance of family to children, stipulating that there should be no arbitrary or unlawful interference with family, and this should be protected by law. Australia needs to support families to care for children, including: • • • • improvements in universal support services in the early years, such as paid maternity leave making sure that removing a child from their home and from the care of their parent(s) is considered an intervention of last resort across all Australian statutory child protection jurisdictions, with governments committed to making all efforts to keep children at home with their families3 supporting young people leaving out-of-home care taking into account Australia’s history of forced removals and forced adoptions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children when considering the transfer of legal guardianship as an option for any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child. 13