I’m pleased to let you know that the review of the Charter of Rights for Children and Young People in Care has been completed.
Thank you to everyone who contributed their views, experiences and ideas.
Minister Rolls approved the updated Charter on 26 August 2026. The Charter and accompanying Special Report were subsequently tabled in Parliament on 1 September 2026.
Has anything changed?
Throughout the review, children and young people gave us a strong message: rights are experienced through everyday interactions and relationships, not through words on paper. They did not seek to change the substantive rights in the Charter, rather they want adults to better understand what the Charter rights actually mean in practice. They asked us to strengthen how the rights are described, understood and upheld in practice.
Accordingly, our Office prepared a revised Charter with targeted variations to the “this means” statements that accompany selected rights.
These statements provide practical examples that help children, carers, workers and decision-makers understand what each right looks and feels like in everyday life. They transform broad rights into tangible expectations that can guide relationships, decisions and practice.
The variations responded directly to themes consistently raised throughout the review, including:
- the importance of stability, security and continuity in children’s lives and relationships
- the need for children’s rights to extend to digital environments and online safety
- stronger and more meaningful participation by children and young people in decisions that affect them
- explicit recognition of children’s rights to contribute to, access and own their life story
- stronger recognition of Aboriginal children’s rights to maintain connection to family, community, Country and culture, including the consistent application of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle
- recognising that relationships with workers should be meaningful, trusted and relational, rather than purely transactions
- ensuring inclusive language that reflects the diversity of children and young people in care
- clearer recognition of the health rights of young people who experience pregnancy or become parents while in care, and
- greater recognition of trauma-informed mental health care, relational practice and children’s rights as health consumers.
What’s next?
We are updating our resources, and will let you know when these are available.
Our Office remains committed to promoting, monitoring and strengthening the Charter through independent oversight. We will continue to use the Charter as a practical framework for assessing the quality of care experienced by children and young people, highlighting good practice, identifying opportunities for improvement and elevating the voices of children and young people themselves.
Ultimately, the success of the Charter will not be measured by the words printed on its pages. It will be measured by whether children and young people feel safe, listened to, respected, connected and hopeful about their future. It will be measured by whether they experience these rights every day, in every placement, through every decision and in every relationship.
Thank you for your ongoing support, care and advocacy for children and young people.
