This policy insights paper examines the rising trend of school suspensions in New South Wales (NSW) and their connection to student interaction with the criminal justice system. It identifies practical, evidence-based strategies – as alternatives to school exclusion – to create safer learning environments for students, teachers and schools to support long-term outcomes.

Across Australia, children as young as ten can be arrested, charged and detained under criminal law. This approach continues to disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. This position paper argues that raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility is a necessary shift toward justice systems that respect community-led ways of caring for children.

This paper explores the intersection of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, relevant Queensland Acts and the human services practice area of youth justice in Queensland. It finds direct and systemic contravention of the human rights of children involved with the youth justice system in Queensland.

This report examines cases sentenced or diverted in Victoria involving offences committed by children aged 10 to 13 at their offending, including their demographics, offending profiles and sentencing outcomes. The report is intended to assist with the implementation and monitoring of measures that apply to children under 14 in the new Youth Justice Act 2024.

This review of the incarceration of children in Australia was unable to further progress its inquiries due to the calling of the 2025 Federal election. This final report recommends that the Senate take note of the interim report and re-refer the inquiry in the new Parliament.