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 transform 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), detailed how the commission’s suggestions are designed to ensure that Australia prioritises child welfare at a national level.

In the same episode, she shed light on the troubling and distressing conditions prevalent within Australia’s youth justice system.

Hollonds emphasised that one of the central recommendations outlined in the report is the establishment of a national taskforce dedicated to the comprehensive reforms of the youth justice systems.

“The first recommendation is that we set up a national taskforce where the whole of federation works together on a roadmap for reform of our child justice systems,” she said.

This taskforce, as outlined by Hollonds, would be responsible for “reforming the justice end, because there’s these terrible breaches of human rights that are occurring now, but also understanding that just doing that won’t stop offending and reoffending”.

By addressing this systemic issue, she said, the taskforce intends to address the underlying causes of challenges within the youth justice system.

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She further said: “We’ve got to work on those upstream systems that are failing to meet the needs, the complex needs of these children and their families.”

Another principle recommendation articulated by Hollonds was the appointment of a cabinet minister specifically designated to oversee and advocate for children’s issues.

Hollonds pointed out that although there is a common misconception that a minister for children already exists, this is not the case. Despite the longstanding presence of a minister for women, Australia currently lacks a dedicated cabinet position focused specifically on children’s issues.

She also expressed that the report advocates for the establishment of a ministerial council for child wellbeing.

This proposed council would comprise a “multidisciplinary group of experts” who would report directly to the minister for children and provide strategic advice on matters related to child welfare.

The final pivotal recommendation Hollonds explained that the report suggests is incorporating the Convention on the Rights of the Child into Australian domestic law.

Although Australia ratified the convention in 1990, she revealed it has not yet been enshrined in national legislation. This lack of legal integration means there is “no accountability” mechanism for upholding the rights outlined in the convention.

In addition to these high-level recommendations, Hollonds highlighted how the report outlines several actionable steps that can be taken immediately. These “low-hanging fruit” involve practical measures that jurisdictions can implement without extensive delays or bureaucratic hurdles.

She also said: “We need to transform our thinking about this. We need to recognise that we have misunderstood the problem and we’ve been trying to tackle it in the wrong way and at the wrong end, just at the justice end, the criminal justice end. We have failed to properly invest our attention and resources into evidence-based prevention.”