The Abbott government can provide national leadership and take adoption out of the ‘too-hard’ basket by setting national child protection performance targets, argues this report, including by boosting the number of local adoptions from care to the equivalent of more adoption-friendly countries within the next 10 years.

This report provides an overview of the purpose, scope and reporting status of 6 national frameworks, 4 National Agreements and 5 National Partnership Agreements that are relevant to children and/or youth. Summary Infants, children and young people make up about a third of the Australian population, and have particular health and social needs that require...

Child neglect is one of the most common forms of maltreatment. Neglect is a topic that encompasses complex issues, many of which are also emerging research areas. This paper aims to provide a broad overview of these issues in relation to current thinking and to generate discussion points for practitioners, policy makers and researchers. Key...

Victoria's residential care system has insufficient capacity and capability to respond to the level of demand and growing complexity of children’s needs, this audit finds. Summary On any given day around 500 children are in residential care in Victoria. These children are among the most vulnerable in the community. They are generally in the Out...

Provides insights into the aspects of Australian communities that support children and those that fail them. It examines the ways in which communities can be strengthened from the standpoint of children. The report documents how excessive use of alcohol, aggressive drivers and the threat of violence make children feel unsafe in their communities. It also...