The Commission has commenced an inquiry into the implementation of amendments arising from the Children, Youth and Families Amendment (Permanent Care and Other Matters) Act 2014. The inquiry commenced on 1 September 2016 and is expected to be finalised in March 2017. The legislative amendments took effect on 1 March 2016 and change the way...

Australian policy settings began to acknowledge the lessons of our history through greater recognition of the importance of children’s connection to community and culture in the 1980s. At this time, the efforts of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and advocates led to the establishment of the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle, which is now enshrined in Victoria’s Children...

The Department for Child Protection and Family Support has developed the Building Safe and Strong Families: Earlier Intervention and Family Support Strategy in partnership with the community services sector to enable the service system to be more responsive and effective for the most vulnerable families in Western Australia. The Strategy focuses on four key areas...

Summary This report provides an overview of permanency planning and long-term care for children in out-of-home care, noting current concepts and describing available data and development work being undertaken to improve national reporting. The importance of achieving permanency for children and young people in out-of-home care is widely recognised. However, standardised collection and reporting of...

Royal Commissioner Margaret Nyland and her team looked at the laws, policies, practices and structures currently in place for children at risk of harm, abuse or neglect including those who are under the guardianship of the minister.