Policy, research and submissions
Ensuring the voices of children, young people and their families are represented at all levels of government.
Last updated: 08 Jan 2026
Our commitment to representation and evidence-based solutions
We are dedicated to ensuring the voices of children, young people and their families are represented at all levels of government.
We are proactive in preparing submissions to governmental bodies and other relevant stakeholders. These submissions serve as powerful advocacy tools, highlighting the needs and concerns of children, families and the workforce that supports them.
Our research initiatives generate valuable insights into the challenges faced by children and families and potential solutions to address these challenges. With a firm commitment to evidence-based practices, our research not only informs our own work but also contributes to broader discussions and policymaking processes.
Our latest government submissions
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Gender Equality as a National Security and Economic Security Imperative
The Centre’s submission on gender equality highlights how this issue is central to Australia’s economic strength, national security and the wellbeing of children and families.
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The Centre’s 2025 Submission to Australia’s Youth Justice and Incarceration System Federal Inquiry
The Centre welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Federal Inquiry into Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system.
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2026-27 Tasmanian Budget Priority Statement
The Centre’s Tasmanian Budget Priority Statement reflects twelve months of engagement with organisations working with Tasmania’s children and families.
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Victoria State Budget Submission 2025-26
The Centre submitted recommendations for the Victorian State Budget 2025-26, advocating targeted investments in children, families and frontline services. We called for expanded affordable housing, bolstered early years support, and sustainable funding for family violence prevention and crisis systems. The submission emphasised closing service gaps in outer suburbs and regional areas, strengthening workforce capacity, and improving integrated support across health, education and social services. We urged greater attention to child and family wellbeing in Victoria’s fiscal settings. The aim is to ensure that the budget supports safe, stable futures for children and families experiencing vulnerability.
Treating Families Fairly
Treating Families Fairly is an alliance of child and family service organisations, peak bodies, and academic experts advocating for fair and respectful social policy.
Formed in 2017, the alliance emerged in response to concerns about the impact of conditional welfare policies on families and the services that support them. Our work highlights the critical link between poverty, social security systems, and child and family wellbeing. We call for policy reform upholding dignity, reducing harm, and building a more equitable future for all families.
Latest policy and research news from the Centre
Peak body backs huge step forward for landmark Victorian reforms for children in care
20 Feb 2026
The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare welcomes cross-party support for life-changing legislation for children in state care.
RoGS 2024-25: Child Protection Services – What it means for children and young people
04 Feb 2026
This brief summary comes from the Report on Government Services Part F, Section 16 that was released on 29 January 2026. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of child protection services across Australia.
December January Research Review
03 Feb 2026
The Research Review delivers the latest research relevant to the child and family services sector directly to your inbox.The latest Research Review
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No child left behind: Report into the Thriving Kids initiative
This inquiry report examines how Australia can better support children aged eight and under with developmental delay or disability, in the context of NDIS growth and long‑standing system challenges. Drawing on submissions, hearings and evidence reviews, the report outlines pressures in scheme design, clinical pathways, data quality and education, noting that children with mild to moderate needs often face long waits and fragmented support. It assesses early‑identification models, equity impacts for First Nations and culturally diverse families, and workforce gaps. The report makes sixteen recommendations to strengthen early, evidence‑based, accessible supports.
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‘A moment of reckoning’: Recent developments in Victoria’s child safety framework
This paper from Parliament of Victoria outlines major reforms to Victoria’s child safety framework following the July 2025 charges involving over two hundred offences in early childhood education and care centres in Melbourne’s west. Drawing on recent inquiries and long‑standing sector reviews, the authors describe vulnerabilities in worker screening, fragmented information‑sharing and complex regulatory settings dating back to the Royal Commission. Between August and December 2025, four Acts introduced changes, including an independent early childhood regulator and a workforce register. The paper highlights how this crisis accelerated long‑needed reforms, with national alignment also underway.
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Safeguarding children from child sexual abuse
This scoping review from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), commissioned by the Queensland Child Death Review Board, synthesises evidence on safeguarding children from child sexual abuse in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. Guided by the socio‑ecological model, the review analysed literature, policy and legislation from Australia and comparable international jurisdictions, with the Griffith case providing contextual framing. The report highlights the need for comprehensive, multi‑layered prevention strategies, emphasising a strong culture of child safety, foundational staff training, effective reporting and grooming awareness, and robust information‑sharing mechanisms. The authors argue that safeguarding must be embedded across all levels of ECEC systems.
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Learning in and beyond school
This article in Children Australia is also co‑authored by children and adults, with children leading the discussion on how learning happens in and beyond school. The authors highlight that school is important for academic skills and social development, but that children also learn essential life skills in their communities and through relationships. Positive, respectful interactions with adults, alongside friendships and kindness, were seen as vital. Children emphasised that learning should be fun, safe and supportive, and that adults play a key role in helping them build confidence and work toward their dreams.
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The Centre’s membership benefits build collaboration, advocacy, and capacity within the child and family services sector, ensuring a more resilient and supportive environment that provides better outcomes for children and families.
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