Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Bill 2026. It is well known in this chamber and outside of it that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people continue to face unacceptably high and persistent levels of disadvantage. The scale, depth and urgency of the systemic failures affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is profound, and it demands a serious and sustained national response.

Today an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child is 11 times more likely to be in out-of-home care, and 27 times more likely to be in youth detention than a non-Indigenous child. These statistics have been well canvassed, they are well-known. They affect real young lives being shaped, and too often harmed, by the systems that should be there to protect and to support them. Children and young people sit at the heart of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. Nine of the agreement's targets are dedicated specifically to improving life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. This bill is a critical step towards delivering on these commitments and towards ensuring that the voices and needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are no longer sidelined or overlooked.

For too long, these children have been without a legislated, independent and empowered voice at the federal level. That absence has had consequences in policy design, in accountability and in outcomes. Two years ago, the Albanese Labor government committed to establishing the National Commissioner for First Nations Children and Young People. As part of that commitment we established the national commission as an executive agency, but the current arrangements do not provide the national commissioner with the ability to conduct inquiries, to make recommendations or to report to our parliament. This bill changes that. It's a vital step. It establishes the national commission as a statutory body, giving the commissioner more independence and discretion in the performance and exercise of their function and powers. This will allow the commissioner to continue to advance the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, and it will ensure the systems designed to protect and promote their rights do just that.

This is not symbolic. It's a structural change, and it's a commitment to ensuring that every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child—every child—can grow up safe, strong and supported, with every opportunity to thrive. The bill will allow the national commissioner to promote and enhance coordination efforts among government entities and officials and provide advice to the Commonwealth on the development and delivery of policies, programs and services that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. The bill will allow the national commissioner to undertake research into systemic issues and barriers that affect their rights, interests, development, safety and wellbeing. Notably, the national commissioner will be able to collaborate with the Australian Human Rights Commission and other organisations and institutes and to engage with human rights mechanisms, including relevant United Nations bodies, rapporteurs and procedures.

The bill has the potential to impact the lives of more than 400,000 children and young people nationwide. Since the establishment of the interim commission in January 2025, the commissioner has been bringing people together to discuss and address the issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. The commissioner has provided advice to government on policy reform and developing systems and policies to ensure the commission can properly engage with children and young people in a safe, culturally appropriate and trauma informed way.

Our government is determined to drive meaningful change and reform to close the gap and to address the targets of the national agreement. As my colleague Senator McCarthy said in her closing the gap statement to this chamber:

As a government, our task is to ensure no one is held back and no one is left behind.

That means confronting the challenges, while also recognising the strength, innovation and leadership in communities.

I commend this bill to the Senate.