Authorities in New South Wales are taking newborn Aboriginal children from their mothers in "flawed" and "unethical" ways, sometimes leaving no chance even for a photograph, a child welfare review has found.

Key points: Professor Megan Davis found the system had lost sight of its goal of protecting children

Professor Megan Davis found the system had lost sight of its goal of protecting children In some cases, newborns were taken without the mother having a chance to take a photograph of the baby

In some cases, newborns were taken without the mother having a chance to take a photograph of the baby Professor Davis recommended a triage system to identify women at risk early to help during pregnancy

The damning review by Megan Davis, an Indigenous law professor at the University of NSW, also called for a ban on adopting Aboriginal children from the care system.

Professor Davis's report, commissioned by the State Government and released last week, makes 125 recommendations to overhaul the way Aboriginal families are treated by the system.

The bureaucracy "has in many ways, 'lost sight' of the actual goal of protecting children in its day-to-day operation," Professor Davis found.

The review team discovered examples of the Department of Family and Community Services giving false and misleading evidence in court when arguing against parents' ability to keep custody.

It also found "widespread non-compliance" with laws and policies by the department and the broader sector.

In some cases, "the location of young people under the care and protection of the Minister was unknown".

Professor Davis's report delved into 1,144 case files to explore the lives of all Aboriginal children who entered foster care, care by relatives, group homes or emergency care arrangements in 2015-2016.

It uncovered "multiple instances of poor and unethical newborn removal practices".

Professor Davis authored the report which calls for an end to Aboriginal adoption. ( Supplied )

Nearly one in 10 Aboriginal children who entered care in the report period entered within two weeks of birth, government data showed.

"The current system of prenatal reporting, investigations and newborn removals is flawed and is having a significant impact on the number of Aboriginal children entering out-of-home care," the report said.

Sometimes mothers had their babies removed with "no opportunity to take photographs, keep a memento (such as a cot card) or give anything special to the baby".

In one case study, authorities knew a mother was homeless, abusing drugs and a victim of domestic violence early in her pregnancy but did not intervene to help before taking away her newborn baby.

In another, a first-time mother was deemed a danger for not giving details about her child's lunch-time routine, despite the fact the baby was one day old.

Professor Davis recommended new policies around newborns, a triage system that would identify women most in trouble during pregnancy and more prenatal case workers.

Auntie Deb Swan of the activist group Grandmothers Against Removal NSW criticised the department for not working more with mothers before they gave birth.

"They would just turn up to the hospital and the next moment the baby's gone," she said.

Auntie Deb said her group welcomed the report, as unconscious bias and racism often led authorities to dismiss Aboriginal relatives as potential carers.

Report a 'watershed moment' for child welfare

According to the Davis "Family is Culture" review, another area needing major reform is adoption.

Last November, the Government successfully pushed for new laws that made for easier adoption of children in out-of-home care, 40 per cent of whom are Aboriginal.

Eight Aboriginal children were adopted from foster care in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, and the numbers are expected to climb.

Professor Davis argued legislation should be changed to ensure that formal adoption "is not an option for Aboriginal children in [out-of-home care]".

Among her reasons were the "alien nature of adoption to Aboriginal culture, the horrors endured by the members of the Stolen Generation and the enduring impact of the trauma and loss of connection to culture caused by forced removals of Aboriginal children".

Other recommendations include scrapping regulatory bodies in favour of an independent Child Protection Commission, greater oversight of court proceedings and far more transparency across the sector.

Tim Ireland, chief executive of the Aboriginal welfare body AbSec, called the report a "watershed moment" for the sector.

"If the NSW Government wants to do better in its support of Aboriginal children in child protection, then the pathway is clear," Mr Ireland said.

Communities Minister Gareth Ward said the Government would respond within the first half of next year.

Mr Ward said reforms had already reduced the number of Aboriginal children and young people entering out-of-home care by 35 per cent since 2015-2016.

However, the number of Aboriginal children in the system has remained virtually unchanged.