Landmark bill to strengthen national advocate for First Nations children

The Federal Government has introduced legislation to strengthen the National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, in what advocates are calling a historic step toward protecting the rights and wellbeing of First Nations children.

The National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Bill 2026, introduced to Parliament this week by Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek, will formally establish the Commission as an independent statutory agency with powers similar to other children’s commissioners and guardians. The Albanese Government has committed $33.5 million over four years, plus a further $8.4 million a year ongoing, to support the office’s operations and staff.

The Commission, led by Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman Sue-Anne Hunter, follows decades of advocacy by more than 70 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous organisations. It is the first national body with a sole focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, tasked with promoting their rights, amplifying their voices and scrutinising systems that affect their lives.

Under the new Bill, the Commissioner will have the power to conduct inquiries, require information from governments and agencies, make public recommendations, and report to Parliament on progress. The legislation also reinforces the Commission’s independence from the executive government, a point National Commissioner Hunter has described as critical to ensuring the office can “push for real progress” rather than be constrained by political priorities.

The Bill comes as data show that many Closing the Gap targets relating to children and young people – including early childhood development, child protection, youth justice, and safety – are off track. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are dramatically over-represented in child protection systems: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data show that at 30 June 2023 about 19,700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were in out-of-home care, and that they are more than ten times more likely than non-Indigenous children to be on care and protection orders or living away from their parents.

Launching the Bill, Ms Plibersek said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people are “the heirs to 65,000 years of continuous culture and heritage” and that every child deserves the chance to grow up connected to family, community, culture and Country. Minister for Indigenous Australians Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said the Commissioner’s role would be an important one in protecting the rights of First Nations children and young people and ensuring governments are held to account when systems fail them.

National Commissioner Hunter has welcomed the legislation, calling it “a historic moment” after years in which children and young people in incarceration and out-of-home care have been “spoken about but not listened to”. She said the Bill gives the Commission “the authority and independence we need to push for real progress for our children and their communities”, and creates an opportunity for Parliament to deliver meaningful change after generations of policies that separated children from family, culture, and Country.

First Nations organisations say the focus now must be on ensuring the Commission has the resources and political backing to drive reform. Community-controlled peak bodies have urged governments to work with the Commission to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care and youth detention, support families to stay safely together, and embed the voices of children and young people in decisions that affect them. For many, the legislation is a long-awaited sign that the national conversation about First Nations children is shifting from managing crisis to investing in their futures.