Our work on issues that affect you

Child justice and wellbeing

We heard from children and young people and families from across Australia about their experiences with criminal justice systems.

We looked at what could be done to stop children coming into contact with the police and the courts and ending up in detention. And how people in charge could treat young people in detention safely and respectfully and be held to account.

Children and young people told the National Children's Commissioner they need 'help way earlier!'. She wrote a report about this. She also recorded this video to report back to children what she heard.

Learn more and access reports on the 'Help way earlier!' project.

On Your Terms – sexual consent survey

We will soon survey people aged 14 – 18 years about their experiences of, and attitudes towards, consent, respectful relationships, and sex education. This will help the government improve consent education across Australia. 

Listening to children and young people

We consult with children and young people across the country so their voices are included in decisions that affect them. 

Our project 'Do things with the information we tell you': Supporting Quality Engagement with Children (SQE) is about making sure the right people – the decision-makers in government – hear what children have to say and take action. 

To read more about the findings, see our Project Overview.

At the UN

Australia has signed up to a UN treaty which protects children’s rights. The government reports on how it is upholding this law to a special committee every 5 years.  

We also submit reports on how we think the government is tracking and what actions we think they should take. 

You can also read our reports that have been written for kids