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Legal professionals urged to drive change following child justice report
Speaking following the release of a landmark report on child justice outcomes across the country, the National Children’s Commissioner outlines the critical role that legal professionals can play in advancing and refining the youth justice system in Australia.
Grace Robbie
In a recently released report, Help Way Earlier!, aimed at overhauling Australia’s approach to children’s justice and wellbeing, the National Children’s Commissioner presents key recommendations to spark significant and necessary changes in the youth justice system.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds, from the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), urged legal professionals to harness their expertise and advocacy skills to advance and refine Australia’s youth justice system. She emphasised that their active involvement is essential for driving meaningful systemic changes, which are necessary to better protect and support Australia’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens.
In the same episode, she shed light on the troubling and distressing conditions prevalent within Australia’s youth justice system and detailed how the commission’s suggestions in the report are designed to ensure that Australia prioritises child welfare at a national level.
Hollonds underscored the necessity for lawyers representing children to equip themselves with extensive and specialised training. This ensures that these legal professionals are not only well-versed in the unique legal and psychological needs of children but also adept at navigating the complexities of the youth justice system.
“I would hope that lawyers who work with children have some training and support so that they understand a little bit about child development and what the needs of children are at different stages of their development and that they’re also providing children with a voice to talk about the things that matter most to them,” she said.
In addition to providing robust legal representation, Hollonds highlights the critical “advocacy role” that legal professionals are called upon to fulfil, as this sustained advocacy is essential for driving meaningful and impactful change within the youth justice system.
She praised the ongoing advocacy efforts by the Law Council. “I’m really grateful to the Law Council’s strong advocacy over a very long time on raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, and they’ve continued to do that,” she said.
To enhance these advocacy efforts, Hollonds called on legal professionals and the general public to engage with and examine the findings of the Help way earlier! AHRC report.
“I would encourage everyone to have a look at the Help way earlier! report because there are other pieces of information in there that would help with your advocacy,” she said.
“As I say to everyone I speak to in any forum, we all have a role. We can all go and talk to our local member of parliament and say this is what I know is going on, and it’s unacceptable. What are you going to do about it, particularly in the lead-up to the next federal election?”
The commissioner also expressed a compelling call for all political parties to commit to making the safety and wellbeing of children a national priority.
“I’d like to see all political parties to have on their platforms that they’re going to elevate the safety and wellbeing of children to be a national priority. And I think as taxpayers and as voters, we have a right to ask for that because currently, this country is failing,” she said.
