Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Bill 2026. I'm honoured to speak on this legislation which places into statute the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People and establishes the national commissioner as an independent statutory officer. This is an important step. It is a step towards stronger accountability, stronger advocacy and, most importantly, better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people across the country. I commend, in particular, the minister—who's in the room—for the work that she and many other ministers have done to get to this point.

As Noel Pearson has said, our strength comes from three threads—our ancient Indigenous history, our British institutions and democracy, and our history of multicultural achievement. This commission sits at the intersection of those threads. It reflects our responsibility to ensure that our institutions serve and protect all Australians, including the youngest members of our First Nations people. While the commission has existed in some form since 2024 and has been operational since 2025, this legislation strengthens its independence, formalises its powers and functions and provides clarity about its long-term funding and authority. This bill also fulfils a commitment made by the government under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. It is a significant step forward, and I commend the government for bringing it forward. But, more importantly, this moment reflects decades of advocacy from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, elders and organisations who have fought tirelessly for their children and for future generations.

I want to particularly acknowledge the SNAICC, the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care, which has been advocating for this legislation which recognises the rights of Aboriginal children since 1991. Their persistence and leadership have been instrumental in bringing us to this point. It has taken us too long, but it is important that we're here now. Our progress to close the gap is too slow. In fact, we often go backwards. At the time of the 1997 Bringing them home report into the stolen generations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children represented one in every five children living in out-of-home care. Today, that figure is closer to one in three. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 5.6 times more likely than non-Indigenous children to be subject to a child protection notification and 10.8 times more likely to be in out-of-home care or subject to a third-party parental-responsibility order. The Family Matters 2025 report found that we're still far from achieving target 12 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, which aims for a 45 per cent reduction in the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care by 2031.

Data from the Australian Law Reform Commission tells us the engagement with the child protection system is itself a risk factor for later engagement with the juvenile justice system and adult incarceration. On that point, target 11, which aims to reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in detention by at least 30 per cent, is also going backwards. There has been no improvement from the baseline. The latest data from 2023-24 shows the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people aged 10 to 17 in detention on an average day is 26.1 per 10,000 young people. This is higher than the previous four years. Currently, the minimum age of criminal responsibility in six states and territories is 10. I have long called for this to be raised, and I hope the state and territory governments will listen to recommendations made by this federal commissioner and their respective state and territory commissioners regarding this issue.

Recently, Australia's human rights record was scrutinised by the Human Rights Council at the United Nations. There were serious concerns raised about our low age of criminal responsibility and rising incarceration rates. Our record was brought up countless times—specifically about the disproportionate impact on Indigenous populations. This is not good enough. Of course, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children grow up in strong, supportive and loving families and communities, but we cannot ignore these confronting statistics. We cannot ignore what they tell us about the systems that surround these children. Another key Closing the Gap commitment is target 4. By 2031, we aim to increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children assessed as developmentally on track in all five domains of the Australian Early Development Census to 55 per cent. Nationally, in 2024, only 33.9 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children commencing school were assessed as developmentally on track across all five domains. This is a decrease from 35.2 per cent in 2018, which is the baseline year. Again, we are going backwards.

Early childhood development is one of the strongest predictors of lifelong health, education and social outcomes. If we are serious about closing the gap, we must be serious about supporting children from the earliest years of life. I share these statistics not to paint a hopeless picture but to underline how important the work of the commission will be and how much support and cooperation it must receive from governments and agencies across the country. This bill does several important things. First, it establishes the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People as a statutory agency and formally creates the national commissioner as a statutory office. This ensures independence, authority and long-term accountability within our system of government.

Second, it sets out the commission's functions and powers. The commissioner will promote and protect the rights, safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. The commissioner will provide strategic policy advice to government and support the implementation of key national frameworks, including Closing the Gap. The commission will identify systemic barriers and advocate for reform. It will be able to conduct research and inquiries, publish reports and engage directly with First Nations children, families and communities. Importantly, it will work to improve coordination across the Commonwealth, state and territory systems, which is essential if we are going to see genuine change. These bills also provide funding certainty, with $33.5 million allocated over four years from 2025-26 and ongoing funding thereafter.

Finally, these bills provide clear accountability mechanisms. The commissioner will publish reports and provide advice to the minister, which must be tabled in parliament. This will help ensure transparency and maintain a clear line of sight between evidence, recommendations and government action. However, action must come from these reports and this advice. This commission is designed to support the delivery of the Closing the Gap commitments and align with Safe and Supported: the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children. In doing so, it will help ensure that the experiences and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are not only heard but acted upon.

Stakeholders have welcomed this reform. Catherine Liddle, the CEO of SNAICC, has said:

… the National Commissioner can finally serve as it was always intended—a true accountability mechanism to ensure governments follow through on their commitments to our children and families.

She has also emphasised that this legislation gives the commissioner 'the independence, authority and statutory powers needed to drive accountability and systemic change'.

The commissioner herself has highlighted the importance of listening directly to young people. She has said this will give her the ability to talk to kids, bringing their young voices into parliament to hear about the systemic injustices happening. She has also said this can lead to inquiries and the ability for her as commissioner to make recommendations to parliament around these systems, with the data perspective and from the voices of the children. Listening to the voices of children is vital. It ensures that lived experience informs policy and that our institutions respond to what children and young people are experiencing on the ground.

However, as I raised earlier, establishing the commission is only the first step. For this body to succeed, agencies must cooperate and the commission's findings must be acted upon. Its reports must not gather dust, and its recommendations must not sit unanswered. I draw the attention of particularly the government members in the House to the fact that more than 50 committee and inquiry reports across government that the government itself commissioned remain outstanding, without a response over six months. Only four were responded to within six months. That's not good enough, and it doesn't give me a great deal of hope, if we are setting up this new body that is going to report to government, that government is going to even respond to the recommendations, let alone act on them. If we are serious about accountability, which this body is seeking to be, the government must step up significantly in its efforts to respond appropriately and enact recommendations of various committee reports it receives as well as broader reports. We must ensure that, when independent bodies provide evidence and recommendations, governments respond in a timely and meaningful way. I therefore urge the government to commit to clear timelines for responding to the commission's reports and inquiries, and to set out transparent implementation pathways for the recommendations that follow.

This legislation lays foundations for stronger advocacy, stronger oversight and stronger outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and young people. Now we must ensure that this foundation is matched by action. For these reasons, I support the bills.

See this speech in context