Major new report on child victimisation points to proactive measures

The co-leaders of the report, titled From Recognition to Action spoke to LSJ Online: Matt Tyler, national expert in domestic, family and sexual violence, Adjunct Associate Professor with Monash University and UNSW, and Kate Fitz-Gibbon, national expert in violence against women and children, Professor at Monash University.

The particular focus of this report is domestic, family and sexual violence, including child sexual abuse. A child may experience domestic and family violence, physical or emotional abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, peer sexual violence, technology-facilitated abuse or multiple forms of victimisation simultaneously. The Australian Child Maltreatment Study found that polyvictimisation is common, including that one in four Australians experienced between three and five different forms of child maltreatment.

This report comes at a pivotal moment, giving tangible advice and measures to prevent the further victimisation of children in Australia.

Fitz-Gibbon says, “Historically children who experienced domestic and family violence were often described as “witnesses” to violence against their mother. The National Plan’s recognition of children as victim-survivors in their own right is important because children do not merely observe violence occurring around them, they directly experience it. Violence and abuse impacts children directly and they have their own distinct safety risks, rights, support needs and recovery trajectories.”

NSW Director of 54 Reasons, Claudia Lennon, says, “As in other states and territories, we know that demand is outstripping capacity in New South Wales. In rural, regional and remote Australia, service providers are working incredibly hard, but many are being asked to cover enormous geographic areas with limited resources and not enough specialist staff.”

In October 2024, the Justice Reform Initiative and National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds co-hosted a parliamentary meeting in Canberra as submissions for the first Federal Senate Inquiry into Australia’s child justice system were set to close the same day.

Earlier that month, the National Children’s Commissioner’s major report ‘Help Way Earlier!’ How Australia can transform child justice to improve safety and wellbeing’ was tabled in parliament. Among its 24 recommendations, the ‘Help Way Earlier!’ report specifically called for:

• a National Taskforce for Child Justice Reform
• a National Cabinet Minister for Children
• a Ministerial Council for Child Wellbeing reporting to National Cabinet
• legislation to protect the human rights of children.

Nearly two years later, ‘From Recognition to Action’ reveals strong consensus among consultation participants for greater investment in specialist child-focused services, enhanced prevention efforts, and reforms that centre children’s needs when crafting policy and service design.

Tyler says, “One of our key recommended actions includes re-establishing a Federal Minister for Children with Cabinet-level responsibility. At present there is no single Commonwealth minister with overarching responsibility for children’s rights, safety and wellbeing. That is limiting action, responsibility and transparency.”

As far as reform goes, Tyler says, “We recommend repealing legislative and common-law defences that permit corporal punishment of children in every Australian jurisdiction. Australian law continues, in various forms, to allow parents and carers to use “reasonable” physical force for discipline. We think that is fundamentally inconsistent with recognising children as rights holders and with a national commitment to preventing violence against children. Together with law reform, parents need support to discipline their children without the use of violence.”

The report also recommends reviewing mandatory reporting laws across Australia.

Tyler says, “Mandatory reporting has an important protective purpose, but we heard significant evidence that fear of an automatic child protection response can discourage children from disclosing violence or accessing therapeutic support. The recommendation is therefore for careful review, not simply repeal: how do we preserve child safety while ensuring the law does not inadvertently close down help-seeking and early intervention?”

Anne Hollonds AO, former National Children’s Commissioner, told LSJ Online, “Currently we are ignoring the fact that: Childhood is the most powerful prevention opportunity within our reach. If we are serious about ending gender-based violence in adults, we need to get serious about stopping violence experienced in childhood.”

The National Office for Child Safety reports that one in three girls and one in five boys have experienced child sexual abuse, labelling it “a growing crime that continues to harm too many children, families and communities. Preventing abuse before it occurs is essential to keeping children safe.”

The demand for services is strong, with nearly two in five Australian children experience domestic and family violence. The report identifies 20 specific actions governments could take across the priority areas for reform to prevent, or mitigate, harm to children and the consequential demand for services. These recommendations include preventing violence before it occurs, earlier intervention, ensuring access to specialist child-focused services, supporting long-term recovery, strengthening national leadership and accountability, and placing children’s rights and voices at the centre of decision-making. The research and the report emphasise that early intervention, and suitable therapeutic services delivered in a timely way, prevent long-lasting trauma to victims.

Executive Director of 54 Reasons, Vicki Mau says, “Despite the growing recognition of children as victim-survivors in their own right, governments are failing to match that recognition with action. Children and young people must be heard in decisions that affect their safety, recovery and future. Their voices should not sit at the margins of policy, they should be central to how governments design services, fund responses and measure whether systems are working.”

Stakeholders reported wait times of up to six months for specialist therapeutic services, while some organisations described waiting lists of up to 200 children. Others said they had been forced to turn children away altogether due to a lack of capacity.

The National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021–2030 Second Action Plan, covering the last five years of the full plan, is presently under development,

The Plan is scheduled to guide national efforts starting in 2027, following the conclusion of the First Action Plan (2023–2027). Public consultations concluded on 31 July, 2026.

From Recognition to Action found broad agreement from stakeholders that Australia has built a domestic, family and sexual violence system that continues to centre adults, while children frequently remain peripheral to policy design, funding decisions and service delivery. The problem was not research nor evidence, but political will to act, the report found, claiming:

“Parliamentary Inquiries, Death Review processes, Coronial Inquests, national research and lived experience have repeatedly identified many of the same priorities. The challenge is no longer identifying solutions, it is committing to action and implementation.”

Some stakeholders supported embedding the rights contained in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) into Australian domestic law as critical. The report acknowledges “[w]hile the impacts of this recommended action extend well beyond the domestic, family and sexual violence sector alone, stakeholders described it as fundamental to achieving the National Plan’s commitment to recognise children and young people as victim-survivors in their own right. Without a legislative framework requiring governments to actively consider children’s rights across policy development, legislation, funding and service design, some stakeholders were of the view that childcentred commitments risk remaining aspirational rather than consistently implemented.”

Some, but not all, of the report’s key recommendations, include:

Prevention

• The Australian Government, in partnership with state and territory governments, should lead the development of Australia’s first National Framework for the Primary Prevention of Violence against Children. The Framework should be developed in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, children and young people, researchers and the community sector, reviewed every five years.
• Repeal legislative defences to corporal punishment in every Australian jurisdiction, alongside a national awareness campaign and increased investment in evidence-based parenting support programs. This includes ongoing monitoring of community attitudes and awareness following legislative reform and a comprehensive, culturally aware educational program tailored to the communities where it is rolled out.

Early Intervention

• The Federal Government, in collaboration with states and territories, should lead a review and reform of parental consent laws to reduce barriers to children and young people accessing help.
• The Federal Government, in collaboration with states and territories, lead a review of mandatory reporting laws. The focus should be on balancing child safety with legislation that does not deter help seeking and early intervention. As part of law reform, noting the possibility that disclosures are likely to increase, particular focus should be placed on investment and building awareness of non-statutory responses that can be provided following disclosure which are orientated towards meeting the needs of children and their families (as against an orientation toward managing risk).
• Engaging at-risk fathers (including those who have been victims of violence as children) during pregnancy and following birth of their first child.

Early Response

• Develop and deliver specialist response services for children and young people who experience violence and abuse in every state and territory.
• Equip non-specialist workforces with the ability to respond to disclosures of child victimisation.

Governance and Accountability

• Re-establish a Federal Minister for Children with Cabinet-level responsibility for advancing children’s rights, safety and wellbeing and providing national leadership on issues affecting children and young people.
• Embed Closing the Gap commitments across the implementation of the Second Action Plans.

The report recommends a further five actions:

• Incorporate the Convention on the Rights of the Child into Australian domestic law.
• Use Commonwealth funding agreements to strengthen accountability for children’s rights, including funding for legal assistance, policing, health, housing, education, disability services, and justice reinvestment.
• Develop National Guidelines for the Safe and Meaningful Participation of Children and Young People in Policy, Advocacy and Service Design, being nationally consistent guidelines that establish minimum standards for the safe, ethical and meaningful participation of children and young people who have experienced violence and abuse in policy development, advocacy and service design.
• Establish child and young person representation within the governance arrangements for the Second Action Plan.
• Develop a youth-friendly version of the Second Action Plan, co-designed with children and young people and presented in accessible, age-appropriate language.

Mau says, “Consultation participants weren’t telling us they needed another inquiry or more evidence. They were telling us they’re tired of seeing the same recommendations repeated while children continue to wait for support. There was genuine hope that the second National Action Plan could be a turning point, but there was also a clear message that children can’t afford another action plan where recognition outpaces implementation.”

Note to readers: The Aboriginal Legal Service NSW was contacted for comment but did not have capacity to respond to questions prior to publication.