This report captures these experiences and provides recommendations for the meeting the mental health and wellbeing needs of children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Each recommendation related to the priority areas of the National Mental Health and Wellbeing Pandemic Response Plan, as well as to issues raised in the report.

In 2021, the ACYP team spoke to 99 children and young people across NSW who are currently or who were previously in out-of-home care (OOHC). This report outlines the experiences of those young people and provides their suggestions for what needs to change.

This report sets out seven, evidence-informed principles for those working in the policy ecosystem. The authors hope that these principles, which are not set in stone, will prompt discussion and debate on childhood policy, including the way children are conceptualised in policy and the role they play in the policy-making process.

The content of this plan is primarily driven by direct consultation with children and young people. In this way, the Advocate for Children and Young People is not relying on what they assume children and young people need and want, but speaking to them directly, ensuring they are co-designers in their future.

This e-brief provides an overview of the current law regarding the age of criminal responsibility in New South Wales.