YACSA Feedback On The Children And Young People Oversight And Advocacy Bodies Bill 2016

YACSA fully supports and welcomes the establishment of a Commissioner for Children and Young People and maintains that this role is crucial to advocate for and protect the interests of all children and young people across the state. YACSA has advocated strongly for the independence of this role and that the role should have robust powers of investigation.

To reiterate our previous response, we are concerned that the current public discussion surrounding the Commissioner for Children and Young People is being subsumed into the child protection reform process. Both the Layton and Nyland reviews recommended the establishment of a Commissioner to engage and advocate with and for all children and young people – not just those in the child protection system.

We are deeply concerned that the current discourse creates an unrealistic expectation about the point and purpose of a Commissioner for Children and Young People and urge the Government to reconsider its commentary and confirm its intention before progressing.