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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Submission
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.
Submission
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.
Submission
SCHADS FAD
In accordance with the Further Amended Directions dated 5 September 2025 (specifically, Direction 7), this submission is made in relation to the provisional view of the Fair Work Commission concerning the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (SCHADS Award) at [392 – 396] of the decision of 16 April 2025 [2025] FWCFB 74 (Decision).
Submission
Child Safety Review
The Centre responded to the Federal Government’s National Child Safety Review, supporting stronger protections for children in early childhood education and care. We endorsed reforms to restrict use of personal digital devices, introduce mandatory child safety training, and expand regulatory powers to address misconduct. Our submission backed a nationally consistent Working with Children Check system, improved information sharing between regulators, and safer service design standards. We also highlighted the need to protect vulnerable children from enrolment cancellations. These reforms, if implemented, will strengthen accountability, build workforce capability, and create safer learning environments for all children.
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
The cost of impact: why it’s time to rethink overheads
13 Jan 2026
Overheads have long been treated as a necessary evil in social services: something to reduce, conceal, or apologise for. The myth runs deep that real value lies in the ratio that low administration equals high impact, and that every dollar not spent directly on “the work” is waste.
The 2025 Road to Treaty
24 Dec 2025
Victoria’s Treaty Bill marks a historic step toward truth-telling, reconciliation and self-determination. The Centre celebrates and reflects on key moments from 2025's Road to Treaty and what this means for First Nations children, young people and families.
Keeping children safe and families stable
11 Dec 2025
The Centre strongly endorses the recently introduced legislation, Children, Youth and Families (Supporting Stable and Strong Families) Bill 2025, which establishes shared responsibility across government departments to support at-risk children and care leavers.The latest Research Review
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Key tenets of programs that successfully engage young people
This Youth Action report – the product of a collaboration between the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, Thrive International and Youth Action – collated evidence from diverse sources to identify effective ways of engaging young people in programs and service delivery. Some identified ways of engaging were client-centred, strengths-based, trauma-informed and culturally safe.
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Improving outcomes for young people transitioning from out-of-home care in Victoria
This interim report from Monash University examines transition planning for young people leaving OOHC in Victoria. Drawing on 80 interviews, 196 transition plans and reviews of scholarly and grey literature, it found planning is often inconsistent, task-focused and misaligned with young people’s developmental needs. Many felt excluded from decisions and unprepared for independence, with barriers including housing shortages, fragmented systems and limited cultural support. The report recommends youth-led, relational planning, improved workforce capability, culturally safe practices, clearer roles and responsibilities and stronger post-care supports to improve outcomes for care leavers.
Submission
2025 ‘Help Way Earlier!’ Supplementary Report. How Australia can learn from global approaches to child and youth justice reform
A new supplement to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2024 ‘Help Way Earlier!’ report explores opportunities to reform Australia’s child and youth justice system. The 2025 report presents six case studies from Australia and around the world, highlighting evidence-based approaches that prioritise early intervention, community partnership, and system-wide reform. It finds that punitive measures such as detention are often harmful and ineffective, and identifies strategies that can better support children’s safety, wellbeing, and long-term outcomes.
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The radicalisation of boys – Jess Hill, George Megalogenis, Thomas Mayo with Natasha Mitchell at Byron Writers Festival
This panel discussion from ABC’s Big Ideas podcast explores the radicalisation of boys through misogynist online subcultures. Recorded live at the 2025 Byron Writers Festival, host Natasha Mitchell speaks with Jess Hill, Thomas Mayo and George Megalogenis about the rise of the 'manosphere' and 'incel' communities, and their impact on boys’ wellbeing, identity and relationships. Drawing on journalism, activism and lived experience, the speakers unpack how these ideologies spread, why they resonate and what parents, educators and communities can do to respond.
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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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