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Childrens Rights
21 March 2025Media ReleaseNational Children’s Commissioner condemns new Victorian bail laws as a backward step
The National Children’s Commissioner says the Victorian Government’s new bail laws will not make communities safer because they are not based on evidence of how to prevent crime by children. -
Childrens Rights
20 August 2024Media Release
New report proposes transforming Australia’s approach to child justice and wellbeing
In a major new report, Australia’s National Children’s Commissioner is calling for significant changes to how our federal, state and territory governments approach child justice and the wellbeing of children who are or who are at risk of being caught up in the criminal justice system. -
Childrens Rights
10 December 2024Opinion piece
After the social media ban, is the job done on child safety and wellbeing?
When the backslapping over the successful passing of the social media ban legislation has finished, there is a significant amount of work that still needs to be done to improve child safety and wellbeing in Australia. -
Childrens Rights
10 October 2024Speech
National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds Press Club address
Read the speech to the National Press Club about her major report 'Help Way Earlier!: How Australia can transform child justice and improve safety and wellbeing'. -
Childrens Rights
19 August 2024Publication
'Help Way Earlier!'- transforming child justice for safety & wellbeing
Report artwork copyright Bernard Singleton and Saltwater People 2024. '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 … -
Childrens Rights
26 March 2018Project
Reporting to the United Nations on Children's Rights
In September 2019, Australia appeared before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. This UN Committee monitors Australia’s progress in fulfilling its obligations under: • the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) • the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC) • the Optional … -
Childrens Rights
27 October 2020Submission
Education in Remote and Complex Environments (2020)
The Commission has for many years highlighted concerns that geographical location can impact negatively on the ability of people to have their rights realised, including the right to education. -
Childrens Rights
4 August 2022Media Release
National day spotlights culture and rights of First Nations children
Celebrating and showcasing the lives of First Nations children is the focus of today’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day. With the theme this year of ‘My Dreaming, My Future’, the day also provides a valuable opportunity to reflect on how Australians can work together to improve a range of health, social and human rights outcomes for young First Nations people -
Childrens Rights
9 September 2022Speech
Every child, in every community, needs a fair go. Shining a light on supporting children to grow up safe and supported
His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC, Governor-General of Australia, and Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley. Thank you for launching National Child Protection Week 2022 and for hosting us today. I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land, the Ngunnawal people, and pay my respect to their elders, past, present and emerging, and to all Aboriginal and… -
Childrens Rights
5 September 2022Media Release
Ongoing juvenile detention crisis a failure of basic support for kids and families
Commissioner Hollonds said vulnerable children and their families have been let down by federal, state and territory governments for decades with key recommendations from various inquiries and Royal Commissions going unimplemented. -
Childrens Rights
3 February 2020Publication
Children’s Rights Report 2019
The Children’s Rights Report 2019 — In Their Own Right tells the story of how well children’s rights are protected and promoted across Australia. -
Childrens Rights
6 February 2020Media Release
Children’s Commissioner to Launch Final Report
Australia’s first Children’s Commissioner, Megan Mitchell will on Monday launch her final report – one of the most comprehensive assessments of children’s rights ever produced in Australia. The report makes clear that the mental health of Australian children is not being cared for sufficiently and that Governments must do more to ensure children’s wellbeing. Commissioner Mitchell said: “Not… -
Childrens Rights
25 August 2023Media Release
National Children’s Commissioner slams ‘shocking’ new Qld youth justice laws
The National Children’s Commissioner has expressed alarm at the Queensland Government rushing through legislation to allow children to be detained indefinitely in adult detention facilities, in a further contravention of the Queensland Human Rights Act. -
Childrens Rights
11 December 2019Speech
2019 Human Rights Day Oration
The Hon Peter McClellan AM QC 10 December 2019 I recently visited the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima. It is a confronting but moving experience. It is a memorial to the people the allies believed it necessary to kill to win the war. They were also intent on emphasising to the world that they had the most powerful weapon ever invented. They chose to detonate the bomb in an urban area rather than… -
27 September 2018Webpage
Get Help
If you need help or support, you can explore this section to find organisations and resources that provide assistance to those in need. -
Childrens Rights
1 December 2016Publication
What does the Children's Rights Report 2016 say?
Every year, the National Children's Commissioner provides a child-friendly version of her Children’s Rights Report. This is the child friendly version of the 2016 report, which looked into the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in the context of children and young people detained in youth justice centres or adult facilities. -
Childrens Rights
5 April 2022News story
New report shares voices of children and families
A new report released today by the Australian Human Rights Commission highlights how important it is for governments to listen to children and families when making decisions about services and government policies that affect them. The Keeping kids safe and well – your voices report, led by National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds, follows a request from the Australian Government… -
Childrens Rights
27 October 2021Publication
A guide for children and young people to the National Strategy to prevent child sexual abuse (2021)
This guide is intended to help children and young people understand child sexual abuse, how and where to get help, and how the National Strategy is improving Australia’s response to child sexual abuse. It is recommended for children aged 9 years and up. The development of the National Strategy was a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse… -
Childrens Rights
6 April 2022Publication
Keeping kids safe and well: your voices
Also available Keeping kids safe and well - Child-friendly version Children 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. This report conveys the views of children, young people and families collected by the National Children’s Commissioner in face-to-face and online consultations and… -
Childrens Rights
12 October 2023Publication
Safeguarding Children: A child rights impact assessment tool
The Child Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) tool, developed by the Australian Human Rights Commission with support from UNICEF, will help governments and service providers assess how children's rights and wellbeing will be affected by new laws and policies.