This report outlines the findings and recommendations from the NSW Ombudsman’s audit of the implementation of the NSW Interagency Plan to Tackle Child Sexual Assault in Aboriginal Communities. The Interagency Plan was released in January 2007 and operated for five years. The Plan committed 11 government agencies and a number of non-government organisations to implementing 88 actions. The goals underpinning the Interagency Plan recognise that child sexual assault in Aboriginal communities cannot be tackled in isolation of the broader issues of disadvantage, including poor health, education and employment outcomes, and the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the child protection and criminal justice systems. Throughout the period of the Plan’s implementation, a range of major initiatives have been introduced, including the reforms to the child protection system arising from the Special Commission of Inquiry and the Government’s response, Keep Them Safe, as well as a range of initiatives linked to the National Indigenous Reform Agreement, settled by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in November 2008. In August 2011, several months before the Interagency Plan was due to end, the NSW Government established a Ministerial Taskforce in recognition of the need to improve service delivery and accountability in Aboriginal affairs and, in particular, to improve employment and educational outcomes for Aboriginal people in NSW. Throughout the audit, a series of inquiries have been used to focus agencies’ attention on issues that need to be addressed if specific child protection strategies are to have an impact, especially in high-need locations. Each report highlights measures needed to create an environment where child wellbeing is paramount and communities can thrive, thereby paving the way for more effective child sexual abuse prevention measures. A significant achievement of the Interagency Plan was to focus Aboriginal community attention on the issue of child sexual assault. As a result, a number of individual communities have shown leadership on this issue. This is reflected by increased reporting in those locations. Many of the practical initiatives these communities have developed are profiled in this report. The data shows that in 2006, 26% of child sex offence matters were dismissed or withdrawn with no hearing. By 2011, the rate had decreased to 14%. There is a number of fundamental challenges that meant agencies failed to meet core objectives of the Interagency Plan. These challenges include: the need to improve the capture and use of data so as to assess progress made and outcomes achieved by the Interagency Plan; the need to implement a genuinely inclusive, community-driven approach by providing better support to Aboriginal (and other community) leaders, particularly those in highly vulnerable communities; the need to acknowledge the strong desire on the part of Aboriginal people for healing to be formally recognised as a therapeutic response and for healing programs to be adequately supported; the need to Improve staffing capacity in high-need locations; the need for legislative change to address the existing weaknesses in the regime for the cross-border exchange of child protection-related information; the need to provide better access to counselling and to forensic medical examinations for victims; legislative reform to improve the way sexual assault matters are handled by the criminal justice system; providing effective, holistic treatment to all children who display sexually abusive behaviours; responding to broader juvenile risk-taking: and managing sex offenders in the community. The report highlights the need to tackle Aboriginal disadvantage by investing in education and economic capacity, adopting place-based approaches to service planning and delivery and by strengthening accountability and increasing transparency.