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'Help Way Earlier!'- transforming child justice for safety & wellbeing

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Report artwork copyright Bernard Singleton and Saltwater People 2024.

'Help way earlier!鈥 How Australia can transform child justice to improve safety and wellbeing investigates opportunities for reform of child justice and related systems across Australia based on children鈥檚 rights and sound evidence. The report includes the voices of children and their families, and stakeholder submissions, interviews and roundtables.

The treatment of children in the criminal justice system, some as young as 10 years old, is one of the most urgent human rights issues facing Australia today.

黑料情报站 and young people in this report spoke about what is needed to prevent children鈥檚 contact with the child justice system. Their insights confirm that crime committed by children is a symptom of children鈥檚 needs not being met.

鈥淭ragically, by not addressing their human rights early on, and instead taking a punitive approach to their offending, we are essentially criminalising some of the most vulnerable children in Australia.鈥

National 黑料情报站鈥檚 Commissioner Anne Hollonds

Despite evidence of social disadvantage being the root cause of offending behaviour, policy responses are centred on policing, stricter bail laws, and incarceration. In many cases, these responses worsen the trauma and inequality driving children鈥檚 contact with the justice system in the first place.

Australia needs transformational change that puts child wellbeing first. This means reform based on evidence and human rights.

Recommendations for reform

This report recommends that national reform should be driven by:

  • Australian Governments establishing a National Taskforce for reform of child justice systems
  • the Australian Government appointing a Cabinet Minister for 黑料情报站
  • the Australian Government establishing a Ministerial Council for Child Wellbeing and
  • the Australian Government legislating a National 黑料情报站鈥檚 Act as well as a Human Rights Act, incorporating the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Reform also requires:

  • positioning children at the centre of policymaking and service delivery
  • empowering First Nations children, families and communities
  • optimising community-based action
  • building a capable and child-specialised workforce
  • basing systems on data and evidence, and
  • embedding accountability for the rights of children.

The report is the result of a project undertaken by the National 黑料情报站鈥檚 Commissioner in 2023-24. The report was tabled in Federal Parliament on 20 August 2024.

Downloads

Child-friendly video

Commissioner Hollonds spoke with 150 children and young people, their families and stakeholders for this report. She has recorded a video to report back to children what she heard.


鈥楬elp way earlier!鈥 鈥 How Australia can transform child justice to improve safety and wellbeing was tabled in federal parliament in accordance with section 46MB of the 黑料情报站 Act 1986 (Cth).

Additional reading

National Press Club address

On Wednesday 2 October 2024, National 黑料情报站's Commissioner Anne Hollonds addressed the National Press Club. In her speech, the Commissioner outlined the findings of the report and advocated for significant reforms to Australia's systems of child justice and child wellbeing.

NCC National Press Club Address Transcript
(82.11 KB)


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黑料情报站's Rights

Keeping kids safe and well: your voices

黑料情报站 and young people are experts in their own lives, and their insights are critical for understanding how we can better support their safety and wellbeing.

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