This presentation by Fiona Arney, Director of the Australian Centre for Child Protection, introduces the centre and outlines the nature of the work they have undertaken for 10 years.

This paper draws from recent research about abuse and neglect and from national policy approaches in child protection and disability to better understand the causes, experience and responses to maltreatment of children and young people with disability.

Many children in Australia are able to fully enjoy their human rights. However, the rights of some children are vulnerable. An independent national Children’s Commissioner with the power and mandate to listen to, understand and advocate for children could play an important role in promoting and protecting the rights of all children in Australia, particularly...

Communities for Children place based research project increases knowledge of the social networks and service use of vulnerable parents with children under five whom formal services find ‘hard to reach’. The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020 reflects the nation’s growing investment in early intervention and prevention programs to prevent harm to children through...

Learnings from the sociology of childhood and the children’s rights discourse have informed our understanding of children as competent beings who exercise agency in their own lives and in their communities. Starting from this perspective, we explore the literature, policy and practice contexts which explain and shape the Australian approach to supporting children living in...