News and reports

Earlier this week, the Australian and New Zealand Children’s Commissioners, Guardians and Advocates (ANZCCGA) group met in Hobart, to discuss and progress collective advocacy to promote the rights and best interests of children and young people across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Today is World Care Day, the world’s largest celebration of children and young people in care and with a care experience!
This day is all about recognising and celebrating with the amazing children and young people in our lives – and, for the adults, our own stories and the lives of the people we live, work and connect with who have grown up in care.

Earlier this week, the Productivity Commission released a report on the first of its three-yearly reviews of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
At the Guardian’s office, we recognise that First Nations children and young people, including those in care and youth detention, are at the heart of the Agreement and community efforts to close the gap. Given the importance to their lives and wellbeing, we’ve put together a summary of the report and our key takeaways.

You may have heard talk recently about the possibility of a Human Rights Act in South Australia. Late last year, a parliamentary inquiry on this issue was announced – exactly one year after a group of more than 150 organisations and individuals endorsed a statement calling for the inquiry.
To help breakdown what a Human Rights Act could mean for children and young people, we’ve put together some information about the inquiry, as well as some common questions that come up when talking about rights.

Welcome back to the Guardian’s first blog post for 2024!
While our blog has been on a short hiatus since the end of last year, we’ve been busy working behind the scenes to make sure children and young people in care and detention have the supports they need to thrive in 2024.

With Christmas fast approaching, and another year coming to a close, many of us at the Guardian’s office are looking forward to a break, spending time with friends and family, and our festive season traditions. But it’s also important to take time to acknowledge that, for many of the young people we work with, this time of year can bring up complex emotions – and they need us to treat them gently and with understanding.