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‘Help way earlier!’ – transforming child justice

Children's Rights
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'Help way earlier!’ 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’s 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.

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

“Tragically, 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.” 

National Children’s 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’s 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 Children
  • the Australian Government establishing a Ministerial Council for Child Wellbeing and
  • the Australian Government legislating a National Children’s 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 Children’s Commissioner in 2023-24.

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.

 

‘Help way earlier!’ – How Australia can transform child justice to improve safety and wellbeing was tabled in federal parliament in accordance with section 46MB of the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth).

Additional reading