Change for Children Strategy and Action Plan

Change for Children is Tasmania’s 10-year strategy for upholding the rights of children by preventing, identifying and responding to child sexual abuse.

Change for Children and the first two year Action Plan, Collaborating for Change, is not only about transforming Government institutions and delivering on the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, it is about being future focused, having clear accountability and transparency, and recognising we need every Tasmanian to play their role in keeping children safe.

Change for Children will continue to evolve over time through rolling Action Plans that are informed by evidence and feedback from children and young people, victim-survivors, and the community.

Change for Children has been released for 3 months community feedback.

Change for Children Strategy and Action Plan

Download Draft Change for Children Strategy and Action Plan - Word

Download Draft Change for Children Strategy and Action Plan - PDF

Read Change for Children online

Contributions and Consultation Partners

The Tasmanian Government acknowledges and sincerely appreciates the contributions of everyone involved in developing this important strategy, particularly the individuals and groups representing the voices and interests of:

• Victim-survivors of child sexual abuse
• Families, caregivers, supporters, friends and advocates of victims and survivors
• Children and young people
• Tasmanian Aboriginal people
• People with disability
• Culturally and linguistically diverse people
• LGBTIQA+ people
• Specialist sexual violence support services
• Frontline workers and other child safety experts
• Researchers and subject matter experts

Without their wisdom and knowledge, we could not have developed this strategy to inspire and achieve real and meaningful change for children.

A full list of all contributors to this Strategy and Action Plan is included in Appendix 3.

A number of independent consultation partners provided papers to inform the strategy. We have made these available as companion documents to Change for Children. To view the companion documents, visit the companion documents chapter.

Share your thoughts - public submissions are now open

We all have a role to play in building a society in which children not only survive but thrive, with their rights respected and protected, and their voices valued and empowered.

We invite you to join with us to make lasting change and lend your experience and expertise through our public feedback period.

Together, we can turn Change for Children from strategy to reality.

You can provide your feedback to changeforchildren@dpac.tas.gov.au until 30 September 2024.

Important information about the publication of submissions

Other than indicated below, submissions will be treated as public information and published on this website after the consultation phase has ended and all submissions have been considered.

Important information to note:

1. Your name (or your organisation’s name) will be published unless you request otherwise. No other personal information will be published.
2. As per the Tasmanian Government’s Public Submissions Policy, unless you clearly indicate that your submission (whole or in part) is intended to be treated as confidential, the department will treat the submission as public.
3. If you would like your submission (whole or in part) to be treated as confidential, you must indicate this in writing at the time of making your submission, and clearly identify the relevant section/s and why you want these to remain confidential. Your submission will not be published to the extent of that request.
4. Copyright in submissions remains with the author(s), not with the Tasmanian Government.
5. The Department of Premier and Cabinet will not publish, in whole or in part, submissions containing defamatory or offensive material. If your submission includes information that could enable the identification of other individuals, then all or part of the submission will not be published.

Confidentiality and Right to Information Act 2009

Information provided to the Government may be provided to an applicant under the provisions of the Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI). If you have indicated that you wish all or part of your submission to be treated as confidential, your statement detailing the reasons may be considered in determining whether or not to release the information in the event of an RTI application for assessed disclosure. You may also be contacted to provide any further comments.

Read the full draft strategy, Change for Children, and the first two year Action Plan, Collaborating for Change, below.

Experience of a child or young person

• I am listened to
• I am protected and I know what caring for me means, and who is responsible
• I have a say in decisions that affect me
• I feel safe to speak up when I am not comfortable
• I am encouraged to share my thoughts, perspectives and experiences
• I am believed when I share my experiences

Staff member in community organisation

• Our funding enables us to provide quality services to Tasmanians, including support and healing services for victim-survivors
• We work in partnership with the Tasmanian Government and other community organisaitons to provide joined up services
• We share the same object and principles to uphold the rights of children and keep children safe, in partnership with the Tasmanian Government
• We know how to appropriately respond to a disclosure
• We appropriately share data and information across services that enable us to keep children safe, a support victim-survivors
• We are valued as part of a system that keeps children at the centre
• We meet the Child and Youth Safe Standards

Experience of a victim survivor

• I knew who to speak with to raise my experiences
• I was responded to quickly and with care
• I was listened to and believed
• Government representatives listened to me
• I had access to a range of support options to meet my needs
• I was not rushed and was given choices in how I wanted to respond
• I was treated with respect
• I did not have to repeatedly share my story to get help
• I can see that coming forward has meant other children are safer

Staff member in Government agency

• I understand that it is critical and mandatory I listen to and respect children
• Keeping children safe is my responsibility
• I work collaboratively across Government and with community organisations to keep children safe
• I understand that if I am worried about a child I must report it
• I know where and how to report my concerns
• I know how to appropriately respond to a disclosure
• I respect the experiences and perspectives of victim-survivors and welcome their expertise in improving Government services and the system
• We exceed to the Child and Youth Safe Standards
• If I have concerns about the behaviour of a colleague, including someone senior to me, I know I must report it

Accountability for change

Accountability is at the heart of Change for Children and underpins all parts of it. Accountability means that decisions can be justified and explained. Accountability can be formal and informal.

All Tasmanians, and most importantly victim-survivors of child sexual abuse, are entitled to know clearly who is formally responsible for making the changes this Strategy and Action Plan outline. Formal accountabilities are those that are outlined in legislation, professional conduct and other policies and regulation.

Victim-survivors are also entitled to understand how they will be involved in the process of change through advisory and other informal accountabilities. These are relationships and forums established for the purposes of best practice, but are not outlined or required in legislation, professional conduct policies and regulation.

Victim Survivors have made clear, they do not want the failures of the past to be repeated. Being clear about all accountabilities is critical to making real change.

Formal accountabilities

Parliament of Tasmania

The Parliament of Tasmania represents the Tasmanian people, is responsible for making laws and keeps accountability and a ‘check’ on the work of the Tasmanian Government. In addition to oversight through established Parliamentary processes, dedicated committees will provide oversight and scrutiny of the Government’s reform program outlined in this Strategy and Action Plan.

Parliamentary committees have the power to carry out inquiries, call witnesses, examine documents, discuss matters in detail and prepare reports. This provides an important mechanism for keeping the community informed about the work the Premier, Ministers and Secretaries are doing to respond to the Commission’s report.

Child Safety Reform Implementation Monitor

The independent Child Safety Reform Implementation Monitor will be responsible for holding the Premier and Ministers, the Secretary Department of Premier and Cabinet, and all Secretaries listed in this Strategy to account. The Implementation Monitor will report to the Parliament of Tasmania.

The Implementation Monitor will:

• report on the implementation and delivery of the program of reform (including all recommendations) outlined in this Strategy and Action Plan;
• report on the implementation and delivery of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse;
• develop an Evaluation Framework and baseline data requirements to evaluate the outcomes of reform implementation over time;
• not be subject to the general direction or control of the Premier or any Minister in respect to their performance of functions, or their exercise of the powers;
• ensure all Commission of Inquiry recommendations result in sustained and systematic improvements towards preventing child sexual abuse in institutions; and
• provide annual reports to maintain momentum for reform, embedding accountability for change and ensuring progress is transparent.

The Implementation Monitor will also provide periodic reports every five years to monitor and mitigate unintended consequences of reforms, and support continuous improvement.

The Implementation Monitor will be able to provide notice to any Secretary if they require any document or information that the Monitor reasonably believes is necessary to fulfil their role.

New Commission for Children and Young People

A new Commission for Children and Young People will act as a strong advocate for children’s rights and monitor child-safe practices in organisations.

The new Commission will include the Commissioner for Children and Young People, as well as a range of additional statutory functions and powers.

Two new statutory roles will also be established and embedded within the new Commission:

• a Child Advocate (who will be appointed as Deputy Commissioner) and
• a Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People.

Commissioner for Children and Young People

The Commissioner is an independent and impartial statutory officer established under Tasmania’s Commissioner for Children and Young People Act 2016. The general functions of the Commissioner are to:

• advocate for all Tasmanian children and young people;
• act as an advocate for young people detained under the Youth Justice Act 1997;
• research, investigate and influence policy development in areas relating to children and young people;
• promote, monitor and review the wellbeing of children and young people;
• promote and empower children and young people to participate in the making of decisions, and to express opinions about matters that affect their lives;
• help ensure Tasmania meets its national and international obligations in respect of children and young people; and
• encourage organisations to establish child-friendly mechanisms to assist children and young people to participate in matters that affect them.

The Commissioner’s role is generally systemic in nature. The Commissioner advocates for laws, policies and practices that uphold, protect and promote the rights and wellbeing of children and young people.

Independent Regulator

In addition the new Commission for Children and Young People will include the Independent Regulator.

The Independent Regulator oversees Tasmania’s compliance with the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework. This includes all Tasmanian Government agencies.

The Independent Regulator:

• is independent from the Tasmanian Government and reports to the Parliament;
• builds the capability of organisations to prevent, identify, and respond to harm to children and young people;
• ensures organisations report and undertake investigations correctly in line with the Reportable Conduct Scheme;
• is established and given powers under the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act 2023;
• has significant enforcement powers to ensure compliance;
• can share information in the interests of protecting children and young people;
• will collect and report on trends in relation to child and youth safe organisations;
• is supported by a Deputy Regulator (yet to be appointed).

A single Commission for Children and Young People will ensure that child safety practices in institutions are overseen by one primary, independent authority with expertise in children’s rights and safety.

Tasmanian Government Accountable Officers

All adults are responsible for upholding the rights of children.

All Tasmanian Government organisations are legally required to comply with the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework[19]. This means all leaders in the Tasmanian State Service have an obligation to report concerns of conduct related to child abuse involving a worker in their organisation to the Independent Regulator.

Within this broad and shared accountability, there are some roles that have specific obligations to implement this Strategy, Action Plan, and the 191 Commission of Inquiry recommendations that will be delivered through it.

The Premier of Tasmania is ultimately the responsible office holder with accountability to Tasmanians for implementation of this Strategy and Action Plan encompassing all Commission of Inquiry recommendations. Ministers have responsibility for ensuring recommendations that apply within their portfolios are delivered and achieve outcomes.

The Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet is the State Servant ultimately responsible for implementing the Government commitments, and reports to the Premier and Cabinet, who have a responsibility to report to Parliament on the changes that have been realised through this Strategy and Action Plan. The Premier and Cabinet also have responsibility for ensuring that the Tasmanian community receives transparent information and updates about the implementation of this Strategy and Action Plan.

All Secretaries are responsible for ensuring the rights of children are upheld in all services and settings within their Agency, victim-survivors voices are centred and all recommendations that are the responsibility of their agency are implemented in the timeframes set out in this Strategy and Action Plan, and deliver real outcomes.

Secretaries are working together through a coordinated group called the Secretaries Board, to ensure integrated and comprehensive change. The Secretaries Board meets monthly and reports to a dedicated Cabinet Subcommittee comprised of the Premier and Ministers. In addition, groups of recommendations, called priority areas have been established. A Deputy Secretary lead has been appointed for each priority area.

Priority area leads are responsible for ensuring the recommendations within their area are connected, integrated and different parts of the system both within and outside of Government are working together to deliver reform.

Informal accountabilities

Tasmanian children and young people

The implementation of Change for Children, associated Action Plans, and through them all recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, will continue to be informed by the voice of Tasmanian children. This will happen in different ways across the various actions and priority areas that comprise the first Action Plan.

Overall implementation of Change for Children will be informed by continual engagement with the Commissioner for Children and Young People’s Children’s Panel. Members of this Panel have contributed their thoughts to the development of this Strategy and Action Plan, and its implementation will continue to be informed by their views and experiences. The Laurel House Lived Experience Advisory Panel for Young People (LEAPY) has also been involved and will continue to be engaged.

Victim-survivors

A Victim-Survivor Advisory Group, to provide ongoing feedback on the implementation of Change for Children, and associated Action Plans, is currently being established. This forum will ensure that the Premier and Ministers continue to hear directly from victim-survivors, and victim-survivors hear directly from Government.

A process to form the Group began in late 2023. A specialist Engagement Team has been appointed to progress the formation of the Group, assisted by an expert lived experience consultant. The Advisory Group will then be appointed by the Premier, for the purposes of providing advice directly to the Premier and Cabinet on progress implementing Change for Children.

This Advisory Group will be in addition to the Lived Experience Advisory Panel which informed the development of the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework and its implementation.

In addition to the Advisory Group, ongoing critical engagement with specialist services will ensure that a diversity of victim-survivor voices are listened to, heard and supported as this Strategy and associated Action Plans are implemented.

The important role of Community Organisations

The Tasmanian Government delivers services to the community directly, and in partnership with community organisations. This includes community organisations delivering vital health, mental health, housing, disability and other critical services. Community organisations have an important role in not only providing services, but challenging and changing cultural attitudes and beliefs that discriminate against some members of the community.

Importantly, specialist community organisations also work in partnership with the Tasmanian Government to support victim-survivors to recover and heal. The Commission of Inquiry made a substantial number of recommendations that seek to strengthen the Tasmanian Government’s partnership with community organisations and ensure the safety of children and young people in all settings where they live, work, play and heal. These recommendations, and the need to partner with community organisations, as part of a child centred system, are woven throughout this Strategy and Action Plan.

Communication

Updates on progress implementing Change for Children, will be published quarterly on www.keepingchildrensafe.tas.gov.au. In addition, case studies of change will be shared on this website on a periodic basis.

Ongoing engagement with children and young people, victim-survivors and all members of the Tasmanian community is fundamental to making real change and being accountable. Forums for ongoing engagement are described throughout this Strategy and associated Action Plans.

Change is urgent and has commenced

Before the Commission of Inquiry’s report was handed down, the Tasmanian Government took early action to respond to some of the critical issues raised at the hearings and in previous Reviews.

A significant amount of work has been, and is, underway across Government agencies. It is not possible to outline all of this work in this Strategy and Action Plan, nor is it the purpose of this Strategy and Action Plan. Below provides a summary of work underway but does not capture all activity across all Government agencies, and in partnership with the community services sector.

When the report was released, the Government accepted all 191 recommendations and all 75 findings and established a six-year program of work for delivery in three phases[20]:

• Phase 1: 48 recommendations (scheduled for delivery by July 2024);
• Phase 2: 110 recommendations (scheduled for delivery by July 2026); and
• Phase 3: 33 recommendations (scheduled for delivery by July 2029).

The initial Government Response: Keeping Children Safe and Rebuilding Trust was released in December 2023[21] and was backed by initial funding of more than $55 million for immediate action on the most urgent changes. Through this investment, significant change is happening including:

• Amending legislation to improve the prosecution of sexual offences, provide better access to justice for those affected by sexual violence, and hold people to account for failing to protect children and young people from child sexual abuse;
• Additional funding to child safety and front line sexual violence support services to increase statewide availability and access to counselling, crisis support, referral and information as well as expand access to support and treatment of harmful sexual behaviours;
• Establishing the Arch Centres for victims of family and sexual violence to receive multidisciplinary care from government and non-government services.
• Implementing a network of safeguarding leads in all government schools, libraries and Child and Family Learning Centres;
• Prioritising and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre until the facility is shut down;
• Establishing the position, role and independence of the Child Sexual Abuse Reform Implementation Monitor;
• Establishing comprehensive complaints and child safety and wellbeing frameworks, to oversee, monitor and investigate safeguarding concerns in our public health system, supported by statewide services for complaints and child safety and an independent Child Safety and Wellbeing Panel;
• Strengthening the accountability of heads of government agencies, including through revised performance agreements;
• Establishing new frameworks and training resources to improve the culture, knowledge and capability of government workers to respond to concerns, allegations and incidents of child sexual abuse; and
• Centralising the management of Tasmanian State Service Code of Conduct complaints.

A report, Immediate Change: Recommendations to be implemented by 1 July 2024 (Phase 1) Progress Report, is available on www.keepingchildrensafe.tas.gov.au

Rights for change

‘Every child needs to be protected, to have the right to feel safe and the foundations to be safe if they are to move forward and thrive in our society. It is the absolute and sole responsibility of every one of us adults to ensure that this happens”[22]

Upholding the universal rights of children in all settings in which children live, learn, play and heal is the foundation of Change for Children. Upholding these rights increases the prevention of child sexual abuse, and when rights are breached, reinstating them ensures a trauma-informed response.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child outlines 54 specific rights for children[23]. In particular article 34 outlines a child’s right to be protected from sexual abuse and exploitation.

In 2017, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse[24] handed down its findings and recommendations. In direct response, the Governments of Australia developed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations[25]. The National Principles give effect to the rights of children, by translating them into organisational standards and practices.

The National Principles are now enshrined in legislation as Tasmania’s Child and Youth Safe Standards[26]. They reflect and are framed by the universal rights of children.

The Standards guide and will be delivered through this Strategy and associated Action Plans. They knit together the vision, principles, rights, and future state into a set of widely understood benchmarks. They are required to be implemented by all Tasmanian Government agencies and community organisation partners and will be given full effect through the implementation of this Strategy and Action Plan.

UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE: All standards are to be applied in an environment that ensures the right to cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.

1. Child Safety and Wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.
2. Children and Young People are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
3. Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
4. Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.
5. People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
6. Processes to respond to complaints and concerns are child-focused.
7. Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
8. Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
9. Implementation of the Child and Youth Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.
10. Policies and procedures document how the organisation is safe for children and young people.

A note on Standard Four: Equity is upheld and diverse needs are respected in policy and practice

The needs of diverse children and young people are enshrined in the Child and Youth Safe Standards and the vision and principles that underpin Change for Children and associated Action Plans.

Standard four of the Child and Youth Safe Standards requires that equity and diversity are respected in policy and practice – this applies across all Tasmanian Government agencies, as well as community services. This Strategy takes this Standard further, and includes a Principle to value and respect diversity. This Standard and Principle will be adhered to in a variety of ways across implementation of the recommendations, and will be subject to monitoring by the by the Independent Regulator under the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act 2023[27], and reported on publicly by the independent Child Safety Reform Implementation Monitor once appointed.

In addition, consultation was undertaken with diverse communities to inform the development of Change for Children. During this consultation people gave their time and expertise to explain how discrimination perpetuates cultures of abuse. They told us that it is important to recognise and address these for cultural change to be sustained. We will continue to work with diverse groups to achieve change and more inclusive communities over time. Diversity is also a key element that has informed the composition of Advisory Groups which will guide implementation of this Strategy and Action Plan.

Vision for change

Tasmanian children and young people have what they need to grow and thrive, they are safe and respected in institutions, homes, families, communities and all places where they live, learn, play and heal.

Guiding Principles for Change

• The inherent rights and dignity of all children are recognised and upheld in all settings where children live, play, learn and heal.
• The diversity of all children is valued and respected including cultural and linguistic diversity, gender and sexuality, age, and ability
• Victim-survivors are believed and treated as experts of their experience. They are provided with support needed to heal, and are engaged in reform
• The Tasmanian Government is transparent and accountable for upholding the rights of children, centring victim-survivor experience and progress to deliver this Strategy
• All parts of the system are integrated together to uphold the rights of children, and prevent and respond to child sexual abuse

A child centred system

“Where do we begin? I personally feel it will take a complete overhaul of the current system (that I truly believe doesn’t work) from the top to the bottom and from the bottom to the top.”[28]

Children in Tasmania interact across a wide range of contexts, settings, and services every day. Children engage with services delivered by Government, funded by Government (but not delivered by Government), and in private and community settings. Children interact with their families and caregivers, neighbours, teachers, nurses and doctors, police, friends, and many other individuals and groups.

This network of environments and individuals that children engage with can be understood as a system. Within the system are specific roles and responsibilities to uphold the rights of children and keep children safe. This includes Government institutions – such as schools, hospitals, police, custodial settings, and children in out of home care.

The Commission of Inquiry found that Tasmanian children who were sexually abused in institutions were caught up in catastrophic system failure. To ensure that the rights of Tasmanian children are upheld, and that children are safe from harm now and into the future, a system response is needed that delivers change across all elements of the system.

System change only occurs where the underlying conditions and elements that hold the most influence over the system, and those people within the system, are disrupted and shifted. These underlying system elements include:

• Structures, policies and practices;
• Resources – people, knowledge, infrastructure and funding;
• Values, beliefs, attitudes that inform how people interact with and within the system; and
• The relationship between the parts of the system.

A deep and accurate understanding of these elements, how they relate and how they influence behaviour in relation to children, their rights and safety, reveal the changes that are most likely to produce the intended outcomes –that children’s rights are upheld in all settings where they live, learn, play and heal – that children are safe. The Commission of Inquiry, and the evidence and testimony of victim-survivors, provide this deep and honest understanding.

A truly child centred system has children and children’s rights at its heart, and the expertise of victim-survivors is engaged and respected across all parts of the system.

As children have shared: “Welcome me, see me, respect me, and listen to me”[29]

A child centred system can be reconfigured as:

All policies are child-centred, integrated and reflect best practice. Both children and victim-survivors have been engaged in developing policies and practices.

The system is interconnected and integrated. Complaints and concerns are investigated holistically. Services can be accessed as needed. Victim-survivors do not have to repeatedly tell their stories.

All children are respected, listened to, believed and valued. Their inherent rights are understood and protected.

From the perspective of a child and victim-survivor this may look like:

“I was listened to.”

“My experiences were taken seriously.”

“I was treated with understanding and care.”

“I felt respected and empowered to heal.”

“I can clearly see that sharing my experience led to change.”

Change for Children seeks to disrupt and shift the elements of the system which hold the problem in place, which pose a risk to the safety of children, and which dismiss the expertise of victim-survivors.

To achieve its vision, Change for Children will implement a systems approach to delivering the Commission of Inquiry recommendations. The scale of systems change means that it will take a sustained long-term effort across all areas; beliefs, attitudes, values, relationships, policies, practices and resource flows.

To immediately move towards a child centred system, informed by the expertise of victim-survivors, Change for Children has organised activity and recommendations to break down silos, support cooperation and strengthen the achievement of outcomes for Tasmanians.

Activity has been organised into priority areas which link together recommendations into cohesive programs of work requiring collaboration across agencies and the community services sector. Not all recommendations require a multi-agency response to strengthen implementation. Where recommendations need to stay as single agency action, they do.

The priority areas each address specific elements of systems change, as above, with a key focus on building integration, coherence, and accountability. They are:

Sustained change

“I think in order to initiate real change, people will have to hear things that aren’t very pleasant, things they may not like to hear. Overcoming that is the first step I think, because things need to change”[30]

To achieve the vision of Change for Children, through a systems approach, will require sustained effort. As such, this strategy goes beyond the six-year program of work already committed, and outlines a 10-year Plan to develop, implement, monitor, evaluate and report on change.

The 10-year Strategy will deliver across four stages, which are comprised of the Tasmanian Government Response already published, and three consecutive Action Plans. These are:

1. Government Response 2023: The foundations
2. Collaboration for Change 2024-26 – First Action Plan
3. Lasting Change 2026-29 – Second Action Plan
4. Maintaining the Momentum 2029 ongoing – Third Action Plan

Each Action Plan will further outline and progress important work to build a child-centred system, uphold the rights of all children, and in so doing prevent, identify and respond to child sexual abuse.

Collaborating for Change Action Plan

Collaborating for Change is the first Action Plan to implement Change for Children. The Action Plan builds on and incorporates the program of work established by the initial Government Response to the Commission of Inquiry. It builds on the important work already underway and sets out a shared way forward.

The Commission of Inquiry and consultation with victim-survivors to inform Change for Children told us that successful reform will require a multi-faceted and integrated response across Government and with community organisation partners. Collaborating for Changes outlines a coordinated and sustained commitment to preventing, identifying and responding to child sexual abuse.

The Action Plan contains a detailed outline of all recommendations describing actions to be taken to implement the recommendations and reforms including any milestones, sequencing and dependencies.

Monitoring and measuring change

Change for Children lays out a plan to achieve different types of change, over a sustained period of time. This change can and will be measured in different ways, and by different roles in the system.

This includes:

• Reporting on the number of recommendations completed and within the timeframes they are completed;
• Evaluating the outcomes of reforms, to ensure they are increasing the safety of children in all places where children learn, play, live and heal;
• The implementation of the Child and Youth Safe Standards in all organisations required to adhere to them, including Government agencies and community organisation partners; and
• The ongoing safety of children and the upholding of their rights in the youth justice system of today, and the future.

Accountability for delivering all recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, and the Strategy outlined in Change for Children, is a critical element of changing cultures, beliefs and attitudes in and of themselves.

The Tasmanian Government has committed to providing quarterly updates on progress of all recommendations on the Keeping Children Safe website. In addition, the Parliament of Tasmania and its committees can request detailed information and updates of the Premier and Ministers at any time.

The independent Child Safety Reform Implementation Monitor, once appointed, will develop an Evaluation Framework and undertake analysis and public reports on whether outcomes are being realised, and how reforms are being implemented. This includes for both the Commission of Inquiry findings and recommendations, and the recommendations of the Royal Commission to Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Implementation Monitor will be investigating whether sustained and systemic improvements to child safety and preventing child sexual abuse in institutions have occurred.

The Independent Regulator will monitor and assess implementation of the Child and Youth Safe Standards and is empowered to investigate where there are reports that they have not been upheld or where there are concerns for worker behaviour through the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

This network of ongoing and independent monitoring and evaluation will be critical in ensuring accountability, transparency and making real change for children.

Working together for reform

This group of priority areas is designed to achieve significant transformation for children and young people who are being cared for by the State, either through community and/or custodial youth justice, and in out of home care.

Together, this group of priority areas is designed to foster safety – of children, and the whole community. Reforming the system is not at the expense of community safety, it is in pursuit of it. A reduction in youth offending and recidivism will create a safer community for all Tasmanians. Across all priority areas strong engagement between police, justice systems, specialist community services, health services, parents, caregivers and family members will be critical to ensuring the wellbeing of the entire community.

Youth Justice

Youth Justice Priority Area

Delivers Standard 4: Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice

The Commission of Inquiry recommended that the Tasmanian Government should close Ashley Youth Detention Centre as soon as possible and suggested a timeframe for closure by 1 July 2026[31]. The Tasmanian Government is committed to closing Ashley Youth Detention Centre as soon as possible and working to immediately reduce the number of children entering detention. To directly address the closure of Ashley Youth Detention Centre a dedicated whole-of-government Taskforce is being established, informed by a Community Engagement Group and Expert Panel.

This whole-of-government Taskforce, reporting to the Secretary, Department of Premier and Cabinet, is providing additional cross-agency support to accelerate and enhance the actions already underway to reform Tasmania’s youth justice system. This will include:

• specific actions to support a reduction in the number of children in detention, prioritising those on remand where it is safe to do so. This includes utilising supported accommodation, providing intensive case management and working in partnership with the community services sector;
• the construction of a new youth detention facility at Pontville, aligned with the Commission of Inquiry recommendations. This includes detailed site planning and scope of works, as well as a community consultation plans and dates for the commencement of community consultation; and
• implementation of increased diversion programs, to be delivered in partnership with the community services sector, aligned with Commission of Inquiry recommendations.

The whole-of-government Taskforce will provide the Government with a comprehensive plan of action for these and additional initiatives by September 2024.

Work has already been undertaken, and is underway, to improve safety and security for the young people in the Ashley Youth Detention Centre. This has included review and enhancement of CCTV capability, the introduction of body worn cameras, procedures and training to support the installation of a new body scanner, development of a new Emergency Response System, including procedures and training to support staff to effectively respond to a wide range of incidents and development of a new Use of Force/Relational Security Model and training package.

In addition to the immediate action as above, the Tasmanian Government has committed to wholescale reform of the youth justice system to address cycles of offending through the Youth Justice Blueprint 2024-2034[32]. This Blueprint outlines the strategic direction for Tasmania’s youth justice system for the next 10 years, and guides the building of a contemporary, integrated and therapeutic system. Through implementation of the Blueprint all youth justice reform related recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry will be completed.

Actions are underway as part of the implementation of the Blueprint, which also respond to the Commission of Inquiry recommendations. This includes work to develop a new therapeutic and small detention centre in the south of the State. A Youth Justice Model of Care is being designed to support a therapeutic approach to youth justice and consultations with all stakeholders, including children and young people have commenced. A Youth Justice Diversionary Services Framework is also being developed to inform the implementation of statewide diversionary programs, which will commence this year.

The whole-of-government Taskforce will lead work to accelerate implementation of the Blueprint and all related recommendations, through the preparation of an immediate Action Plan. This integrated, cross-agency approach in partnership with community organisations will focus on improving the wellbeing of children young people and their families, through addressing the underlying drivers of offending behaviours and improving community safety. This means reducing both the numbers of children and young people entering the youth justice system in the first place, and those re-entering the youth justice system, as well as reducing the amount of time children and young people are in the youth justice system, and their safety and wellbeing whilst in detention. This includes building on significant reform in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service which includes in reach services for children in remand or sentenced to detention, as well as therapeutic residential services.

To deliver this work, agencies holding responsibility for recommendations in the health, education, police, justice and child safety systems will work collaboratively with community organisations to meet the complex needs of children, young people and their families in contact with youth justice. This includes the provision of high-quality education, child safety and out of home care systems, housing, mental health services, drug and alcohol services and family violence services. Wholescale reform of the youth justice system will only be achieved if different elements of the system change the way they work together with a focus on children’s rights, understanding the causes of offending, and taking a public health approach to rehabilitation.

Recommendations: 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.6, 12.7, 12.8, 12.9, 12.11, 12.12, 12.13, 12.14, 12.15, 12.16, 12.17, 12.18, 12.19, 12.20, 12.21, 12.22, 12.24, 12.25, 12.27, 12.28, 12.29, 12.31, 12.32, 12.33, 12.34, 12.35, 12.36, 12.38 and 12.39.

A description of all recommendations is included in Appendix 1.

Out of Home Care

Out Of Home Care Priority Area

Delivers Standard 4: Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice

Out of home care is the system that provides formal care to children and young people who are assessed by the Child Safety Service as unable to live safely at home with parents or primary caregivers because of concerns for their safety and wellbeing. For children in out of home care, the State is their statutory parent and is responsible to uphold their rights and protect their safety. The Commission of Inquiry found that too often children were not safe in out of home care.

A caring, compassionate and child centred out of home care system in Tasmania requires adequate funding across the continuum of care, extending from a child or young person’s first contact and assessment, through family engagement support, response and further assessment, to potential referral for temporary or permanent out of home care, supported by case management. The ultimate aim of the State in taking on the role of guardian is to increase the safety and wellbeing of children and young people by supporting children and their families to be reunited in nurturing family environments where it is safe to do so, ensuring long-term stability for those children and young people in care or, if right for the young person, supporting their transition to independent living.

This priority area will support a child centred, rights-based approach to the reform of out of home care, through partnership between Government agencies and the community services sector. The rights and safety of children who have experienced trauma is everyone’s business and out of home care service provision needs to be structurally integrated with the range of services required to ensure children are safe and well, and their rights are upheld.

The evidence shows that children and young people experience better outcomes when they, their families and communities are supported to remain together and connected in safe relationships. Investment will be targeted in prevention and early intervention, while also creating more tailored options for family-based foster care, and supported accommodation for those children and young people who require more intensive support. This will achieve the greatest, most sustainable, long-term difference for children and young people in care, while also improving the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in care.

Collaboration across other priority areas is also required to reduce the significant over representation of Aboriginal children in out of home care. A whole of government approach to working with Tasmanian Aboriginal people is outlined in this Action Plan and will be critical to successful implementation of this reform.

Through strong partnerships across Government agencies and the community services sector, the Tasmanian Government will implement the changes required to create a service system that delivers caring, compassionate, child centred services where:

• families are supported to stay connected and together where safe to do so;
• responses are culturally appropriate and led by Aboriginal children and families;
• children and young people have influence over decisions that impact them;
• assessment, treatment and wrap-around supports are available that respect and meet the diverse needs of children and young people;
• placements are stable and care is child centred;
• kinship and foster carers are supported and valued; and
• support is provided for care leavers.

The Commission of Inquiry highlighted that the out of home care system is currently overburdened, with little capacity for developing and implementing new ways of working. This priority area will have an initial focus on developing a whole-of-government plan to sustain and stabilise the out of home care system, including through adequate baseline funding and support for foster carers and the child safety workforce. This priority area will also deliver a detailed business plan to build capacity within the out of home care system to ensure successful reform.

Through this priority area a dedicated Out of Home Care Implementation Reform Unit to work across agency boundaries and drive reform will be established, including:

- contributing to the creation of a dedicated out of home care therapy team in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service;

- prioritising implementation of key elements of out of home care reform, including the model of care, Out of Home Care System Strategy and the Out of Home Care Outsourcing Strategy;

- building partnerships with the community services sector, including Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations for delivering out of home care over time;

- articulating a longer-term vision for the future state of the broader child safety system, ensuring out of home care and child safety service reforms are connected and aligned. This will ensure future investment in the whole system is strategic and targeted to improve outcomes for children and young people; and

developing an accurate current state assessment of service delivery costs across the system and a forecast for future service delivery costs required to deliver the future vision, paired with a business case and fully costed plan to operationalise the vision.

Recommendations: 9.2, 9.3, 9.6, 9.8, 9.9, 9.12, 9.13, 9.15, 9.16, 9.18, 9.19, 9.20, 9.21, 9.22, 9.23, 9.24, 9.25, 9.26, 9.27, 9.29, 9.32, 9.33, 9.36, 9.37 and 9.38.

A description of all recommendations is included in Appendix 1.

Harmful Sexual Behaviours

Therapeutic Approach to Harmful Sexual Behaviours Priority Area

Delivers Standard 4: Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice

This priority area will develop a coordinated, consistent and appropriate statewide response to children and young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviours, and children who have been harmed by harmful sexual behaviours.

This response will be developed in partnership with specialist community services and be informed by best practice approaches and evidence form across Australian jurisdictions and internationally. It will build on and integrate pockets of innovative practice in both the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, and the Department for Education, Children and Young People.

Working across agencies and in partnership with the community services sector, this priority area will:

• develop a common understanding of harmful sexual behaviours (a shared definition of harmful sexual behaviours is included in Appendix 4);
• develop a framework, based on this shared definition, outlining a therapeutic service system for harmful sexual behaviours;
• clarify roles and responsibilities of Government agencies and community services involved in preventing, identifying and responding to the full continuum of harmful sexual behaviours, including new roles recommended by the Commission of Inquiry;
• develop context-specific policies, protocols and practice guidance for all settings in relation to preventing, identifying and responding to harmful sexual behaviours, including within the youth justice system, education, and health settings, aligned with the shared definition and Framework;
• embed good practice responses and guidance on harmful sexual behaviours into all relevant agencies; and
• increase therapeutic services for those who have displayed harmful sexual behaviours and children who have been impacted by harmful sexual behaviours.

This priority area will be delivered through a multidisciplinary team comprised of experts from across agencies and the community services sector. This team will be flexible in moving between agencies and services as the recommendations contained within this priority area are completed.

To adequately respond to harmful sexual behaviours, individuals and organisations who work with children will need to shift deeply held beliefs and assumptions and understand normal sexual development, as well as the contextual factors that can lead a child or young person to display harmful sexual behaviours.

Recommendations: 6.9, 9.28, 12.30, 21.1, 21.3, 21.8, 21.9 and 21.10.

A description of all recommendations is included in Appendix 1.

Working together to build connection and trust

This group of priority areas is focused on shifting relationships and connections. It will establish partnerships and approaches to involve children, young people, victim-survivors and Tasmanian Aboriginal people in the implementation of Change for Children and assist in delivering all Commission of Inquiry recommendations in the way the Commission intended them to be delivered.

The Commission of Inquiry and the consultation for Change for Children highlighted the need for government to work collaboratively, establish trauma informed partnerships with victim-survivors, share services with the community services sector, and support Aboriginal self-determination through the transfer of services to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations.

Supporting victim-survivors

Central to partnerships and approaches to involve children, young people, victim-survivors and Tasmanian Aboriginal people in the implementation of Change for Children, it is also important that individuals are supported in whatever way and for as long as they need. The Tasmanian Government is committed to action to support ongoing healing, and prevent further harm for victim-survivors.

Recommendations across many the priority areas focus on partnership with the service sector to ensure it is adequately, resourced, funded, and skilled to meet the diverse needs of victim-survivors. The Government is committed to delivering these recommendations in a holistic, trauma informed and responsive way.

Tasmanian Aboriginal People

Partnering with Tasmanian Aboriginal People Priority Area

Delivers the Universal Principle: All standards are to be applied in an environment that ensures the right to cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People

This priority area will transform how government agencies work with Tasmanian Aboriginal people to build genuine partnership, and deliver recommendations focussed on Aboriginal children, young people and their families in a way that reflects the Priority Reforms of Closing the Gap, which are:

• Formal partnerships and shared decision-making;
• Building the community controlled sector;
• Transforming Government organisations; and
• Shared access to data and information at a regional level.

This priority area will inform and support all other priority areas where recommendations impact Aboriginal children and their families, ensuring that self-determination is central to changes to uphold the rights of Aboriginal children, and protect them from harm.

Through this priority area:

• A whole of government service to support agencies to build partnerships, undertake shared decision making, and transform practices with Tasmanian Aboriginal people will be established;
• A shared Engagement Framework and Toolkit for Government agencies to ensure consistency in engagement and consultation initiatives with Tasmanian Aboriginal people will be delivered; and
• A program of general professional learning and capacity building for Tasmanian Government agencies in Closing the Gap will be implemented, aligned to the Framework and Toolkit.

Whilst supporting the delivery of all recommendations, the initial focus of this priority area will be supporting Government agencies to partner with Tasmanian Aboriginal people in reforming the youth justice system and out of home care in a way that achieves the key priority reforms of Closing the Gap and the Change for Children Aboriginal Commitment Statement.

Recommendations: 9.7, 9.14, 15.10, 16.1 and 21.7. Note Tasmanian Aboriginal People Priority Area underpins several recommendations.

A description of all recommendations is included in Appendix 1.

Child Safe Cultures

Child Safe Cultures Priority Area

Delivers Standard 1: Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture

Delivers Standard 3: Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing

Culture is made up of values, beliefs and behaviours at individual, organisational or institutional as well as community and societal levels. These elements are often invisible in systems, but are extremely powerful.

The Commission of Inquiry report indicated that change needs to happen at all levels to adequately prevent, respond to and identify child sexual abuse. Many of the culture recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry relate to the Ashley Youth Detention Centre, out of home care, and health systems. However, our analysis of the discussion in all Volumes of the Commission’s report laid out the changes that need to be made at all levels and in elements of the system.

This priority area will inform and support all other priority areas, enabling a conscious focus in the delivery of all recommendations on the need to change not only practices and structures, but mindsets and beliefs of individuals that work within, and comprise the system. This priority area will also look beyond Government agencies, at community attitudes and how these are reflected in institutions and the wider community.

A key focus of this priority area is changing the way that individuals and organisations perceive children, and ensuring that children are not discriminated against and that they are listened to and their rights upheld.

The below diagram provides a summary of the mindset and belief changes that the Commission of Inquiry recommended, with a focus on Government agencies but recognising that there is a dynamic interplay between community beliefs and attitudes and cultures within institutions.

At its essence this priority area will focus on shifting beliefs so that the rights of the child are central to implementing all recommendation of the Commission of Inquiry. To do this properly it is imperative to understand, act on and amplify the voices and views of children and the community. Therefore, the actions in this priority area and the next will be considered together.

Recommendations: 9.4 and 15.6. Note Child Safe Cultures Priority Area underpins several recommendations.

A description of all recommendations is included in Appendix 1.

Child and Community Voice

Child and Community Voice Priority Area

Delivers Standard 2: Children and young people are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

Delivers Standard 3: Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.

Children and adults with lived experience have an important understanding of the system and integrating their knowledge in the system will achieve lasting change.

Creating child centred systems is fundamental to implementing the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework, particularly Standard two – Children and young people are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

A whole of government effort is needed to establish best practice approaches to engagement of children and young people that help to create the conditions for children and young people to express their views; to understand their rights; to be heard; to be believed and to have their views acted on.

The Child Safe Cultures priority area will work collaboratively across agencies and the community services sector on shared approaches to build understanding of child rights, child protection, grooming, and child sexual abuse prevention and response. This priority area will:

• increase community confidence in knowing what to do to prevent and protect children and young people from child sexual abuse;
• increase public confidence and capability in knowing how and when to respond to concerns, suspicions and knowledge of child sexual abuse, including how to speak with and support victim-survivors of all ages;
• break down problematic myths and attitudes, encourage a community culture of zero tolerance and drive community attitudes that reject child sexual abuse and uphold children’s rights; and
• Foster partnerships, including with the Commission for Children and Young People for a child centred approach to culture change.

The Commission of Inquiry recommended that the Government establish a Victim-Survivor Advisory Group. This group will be established to inform sustained change and in addition, there will be multiple channels and opportunities for voices to be heard, both within and outside Government.

To deliver these outcomes and recommendations, this priority area will:

• establish a cross-agency community of practice to build on existing initiatives happening across the Tasmanian State Service;
• map culture activities across all agencies to leverage expertise and best practice models;
• establish Community Sector Engagement and Change Leads to work in partnership with government agencies to build child safe cultures within the community services sector, and broader community; and
• work in trauma informed partnerships with children and young people and victim-survivors to engage on their terms, including with:

- the Commissioner for Children and Young People’s Consultative Council to engage directly with children, in a trauma informed way; and

- the Victim Survivor Advisory Group to continually hear feedback and perspectives on implementation of Change for Children and associated Action Plans.

It will draw on, complement and supplement existing national and state initiatives and funding to support whole of community cultural change measures for the prevention of child sexual abuse. The Tasmanian Government continues to work closely with the Australian Government and other State and Territory governments to progress initiatives through the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030, the National Office for Child Safety and the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse.

The Children and Young People Consultative Council – The Voices for Tasmanian Youth: Speaking out for a Safer Tomorrow

The Council, convened by the Commissioner for Children and Young People, consists of 19 children and young people aged between 10 and 18-years old. Council members live in communities across Tasmania and represent a diverse range of identities, backgrounds and lived experience.

Council members determine how they wish to participate in engagement opportunities and the frequency of their participation. Council facilitation has been guided by trauma informed practice, recognising the impact of trauma while prioritising safety, empowerment, choice, collaboration, and cultural humility.

Safety check-ins are conducted on a regular basis, and Council members have access to 24-hour support from SASS and Laurel House. SASS and Laurel House have also provided education and training for Council members to learn about sexual safety, consent and how to look after themselves when speaking about sensitive content and engaging in this work.

The Council contributed their perspectives to this Strategy and Action Plan across five key areas:

• Updating communication and education about sexual abuse;
• Ensuring young people’s voices are being heard;
• Feeling safe in institutions improves attendance and engagement;
• Improving reporting systems to make them safer and more accessible; and
• A greater focus on prevention and rehabilitation to improve safety.

The Council has its own mission statement speaking out for a safer tomorrow – and its own voice to inform Government and community action, including this Strategy and Action Plan. The Council will continue to be consulted and have their voice heard through implementation of this Strategy and Action Plan, and delivery of its priorities and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.

Recommendations: 16.2, 19.5 and 21.4. Note Child and Community Voice Priority Area underpins several recommendations.

A description of all recommendations is included in Appendix 1.

Workforce

Workforce Priority Area

Delivers Standard 5: People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.

Child centred systems require empowered, fully staffed workforces who understand the rights of children, and will act as champions to meet the needs of children.

Implementing 191 recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry and adequately staffing service systems will be challenging and needs a multi-faceted approach. Workforce is a critical component to deliver the lasting and systemic change required to meet the scale of reform, and underpins all other priority areas. It will require a strong collaborative partnership between government and the community sector, recognising that both government and the sector have areas of strength and are in partnerships for the system.

This priority area links closely with the Professional Development and Training priority, and will consider workforce needs across a range of recommendations, drawing them together and developing broad based approaches to address skills shortages and gaps. It will also look at whole-of-service capability to build a capable and committed Tasmanian State Service workforce.

To achieve this priority area:

• Targeted occupational group strategies will be established to focus and drive action. Key focus areas include the child safety workforce, allied health professionals, teachers, and specialist practitioners;
• A focus on youth employment including targeted programs such as cadetships to address employment shortages where workforces are reaching retirement age. This also includes reinforcing partnerships to establish improved pipelines and entry pathways to attract and develop skilled staff;
• Addressing tools for attraction, retention and flexibility. This will be directed towards skilled workers, hard to staff roles and/or key occupational groups; and
• Targeted campaigns to attract applicants for roles from across Tasmania, nationally and globally to highlight working in the Tasmanian State Service will be developed and implemented.

Recommendations: 9.10 and 21.6. Note Workforce Priority Area underpins several recommendations.

A description of all recommendations is included in Appendix 1.

Working together to keep children safe

This group of priority areas is designed achieve change in policy, practices and structures across the critical operational areas of incident management, complaints, information sharing, regulation and monitoring, professional development and training and commissioning. All of these priority areas will be informed by the priority areas in the previous section of this Action Plan focused on Working Together to Build Connection and Trust.

Professional development and training

Professional Development and Training Priority Area

Delivers Standard 7: Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training

The State Service Management Office (SSMO), in collaboration with an external partner and representation from five lead Government agencies have developed a whole of government Trauma Informed Knowledge and Skills Framework (the Framework). The Framework will provide a consistent guide to developing a trauma informed, skilled and supported workforce that is culturally safe, person-centred and learning together. It will provide clear and consistent capability requirements across the workforce as well as requirements for agencies to enable this holistic workplace culture change program. The Framework will also set the foundation for procuring, designing, developing and delivering professional development services for trauma specific programs and also other programs to ensure they are trauma informed and aligned with the whole of government Learning and Development Strategy currently under development. The current whole of government approach to professional development on responding to trauma (Recommendation 19.2) will be expanded to include the Child and Youth Safe Standards and leadership development.

Through the adoption of the Framework the Tasmanian State Service will be better positioned to implement consistent approaches to professional development and training focused on increased awareness, common understanding, capability and expectations of the workforce in how to uphold the rights of children, prevent and respond to child sexual abuse.

Across the Tasmanian State Service and through the implementation of Commission of Inquiry recommendations, there are several similarities in training and professional development requirements. Recognising the maturity of our agencies in learning and development capability and access to professional development services, there is an opportunity to leverage cross-agency expertise, sharing of knowledge and establish a core mandatory knowledge base across all State Service employees.

The overarching objective of this priority area is to protect children and ensure best child safeguarding practices are upheld across agencies, and partner community services, through ongoing professional development.

To deliver this priority area agencies will be supported to procure, design and deliver professional, trauma-informed development with mandated core knowledge on:

• The rights of children, through the Child and Youth Safe Standards;
• Identifying the signs of child sexual abuse;
• Responding to child sexual abuse;
• Trauma informed practice;
• Working with Tasmanian Aboriginal people and supporting self determination; and
• Understanding Harmful Sexual Behaviours.

In addition to mandated core knowledge for all State Servants, this priority area will provide assistance and support to agencies in developing tailored and detailed professional learning.

Recommendations: 6.5, 9.11, 15.15, 16.3, 16.8, 16.16, 17.2, 17.6 and 20.15.

A description of all recommendations is included in Appendix 1.

Regulation and Monitoring

System Regulation and Monitoring Priority Area

Delivers Standard 9: Implementation of the Child and Youth Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved

To deliver child centred and safe systems it is important that the right mechanisms are in place to ensure oversight of institutions and accountability of the Premier, Ministers and senior officers.

The function and remit of different oversight bodies overlap and can be confusing and inaccessible for the community. There is a risk that this complexity and confusion will increase as new oversight arrangements are established.

The objective of this priority area is to ensure that victim-survivors, complainants and the community can understand the regulatory and monitoring system, and processes can be streamlined to ensure access, remove barriers to scrutiny and minimise impact on victim-survivors and complainants.

Recommendation 18.14, of the Commission of Inquiry recommends that the Commission for Children and Young People, the Registrar Working with vulnerable people (RWVP), the Integrity Commission and the Ombudsman work jointly to develop a user-friendly guide for the community relating to the activities of key oversight bodies for the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. The recommendation arises from the Commission’s observation of a ‘confused and complex oversight system’ in Tasmania.

An Independent Statutory Officer Working Group has been established to progress this priority area.

To support an oversight system that scrutinises Government agencies, and holds them to account, as well as ensuring the voice of victim-survivors is central, this priority area will:

• Complete a mapping and sector review to inform opportunities to improve accessibility and administrative functions, with a focus on ensuring that there are no barriers to scrutiny and that making complaints and notifications is straightforward for the community;
• Explore a review of relevant statutory functions to examine if there are areas of duplication and overlap and what might be needed to address these; and
• Establish and embed a process to centre lived experience of victim-survivors across legislation and regulation mechanisms, reducing confusion and ensuring that complaints and notifications are handled in a timely, trauma informed way.

Recommendations: 6.10, 6.11, 6.12, 6.13, 6.15, 9.35, 15.21, 16.10, 16.13, 16.14, 16.15, 17.7, 18.5, 18.11, 19.6, and 20.12.

A description of all recommendations is included in Appendix 1.

Legislative Change

The Commission of Inquiry provided 54 recommendations for changes to Tasmanian laws. A number of proposed legislative changes have already progressed to the Parliament of Tasmania and are being considered, this includes the creation of the Child Safety Reform Implementation Monitor. Further legislative change is planned over the course of implementing reform to 2029. A whole of Government Steering Committee, chaired by the Department of Justice, has been established to guide all legislative change. For detailed and up to date information on legislative change, please visit keepingchildrensafe.tas.gov.au

Information Sharing

Information Sharing Priority Area

Delivers Standard 10: Policies and procedures document how the organisation is safe for children and young people

The objective of this priority area is to remove barriers to and encourage the sharing of information that is known by institutions that would assist in reducing risks to children and young people and upholding their rights.

This priority area will examine information sharing both internal to government and external to the community and thereby also seek to increase transparency and accountability.

The Tasmanian Government is working toward an open culture of information sharing across agencies to keep children safe and also with the Tasmanian community to rebuild trust.

The priority area will look at information in the categories of intake, process and transparency:

• Intake – It will ensure that information received is recorded properly and acted on and that members of the community know how to report information to government and statutory oversight entities;
• Process – it will work on consistent and shared systems and standards to share information within and between government agencies and statutory authorities; and
• Transparency – It will work on sharing as much information as possible with the Tasmanian community and removing barriers to releasing information.

To deliver this priority area:

• A whole of government policy on information sharing will be developed and published.
• An outcomes statement will be prepared that:

- Places the needs of children, including their protection and trauma informed response, as well as the needs of victim-survivors, at the centre of changes to processes, structures and practices in relation to information sharing;

- Focuses on strengthening existing processes or identifying where existing processes are not fit for purpose and require replacement; and

- Scopes an expansion of the Safe Families Coordination Unit to undertake detailed mapping of child sexual abuse incidents to notify all relevant services, and take cohesive, best practice action in response. This mapping will also contribute to prevention, by determining trends and enabling early identification of behaviour patterns.

Recommendations: 12.4, 12.5, 16.20, 17.8, 18.15, 19.7, 19.8 and 20.9.

A description of all recommendations is included in Appendix 1.

Incident Management

Incident Management Priority Area

Delivers Standard 8: Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed

This priority area will work with all agencies to improve processes for response to breaches of the State Service Code of Conduct. There is significant improvement required for current processes so that complaints can be addressed, and matters concluded in an appropriate, trauma informed and timely way. This will alleviate stress and re-traumatisation for victim-survivors, enable swift conclusions for employees and build shared capability for investigation of serious breaches of the State Service Code of Conduct.

An example of this is that the Head of the State Service is considering the status of all Commission of Inquiry assessments and Employment Direction No 5 investigations in relation to current and former employees to improve timeliness of resolution and increase transparency through publishing the maximum amount of information legally allowable, to ensure the State Service is accountable to the community.

This priority area will continue the approach of removing any State Servants from their workplace where an allegation of a serious breach of the State Service Code of Conduct is made, maximising the safety of children and young people while investigations are underway.

This priority area is closely linked with the Child Safe Cultures, Information Sharing and Complaints priority areas, and will:

• Implementing a centralised approach for managing investigations of potential serious breaches of the State Service Code of Conduct;
• Through this centralised approach, build consistency and best practice, including through trauma informed approaches to investigation, response, and communication;
• Substantially decrease the length of time it takes to resolve an investigation of a breach of the State Service Code of Conduct, through additional staffing, clearer processes and protocols, and external expertise;
• Build trust and confidence among children and young people, families, staff and the community that incidents will be taken seriously and addressed transparently and appropriately; and
• Ensure consistent responses to allegations of child related misconduct in the State Service that mitigates the risk to children by thoroughly investigating and actioning potential breaches.

Recommendations: 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 15.17, 15.19 and 20.7.

A description of all recommendations is included in Appendix 1.

Complaints

Complaints Priority Area

Delivers Standard 6: Processes to respond to complaints and concerns are child focused

This priority area is interlinked closely with the Child Safe Cultures, Monitoring and Oversight, Investigations and Incident Management priority areas and will put the needs of children and young people and victim-survivors at the centre of all complaints management processes across Government agencies.

Improving complaints processes will most importantly enable early intervention to prevent harm to children and young people. This priority area will complement the implementation of existing recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry and ensure that work already undertaken and in development across Government can be of benefit to all agencies, specifically the priority area will:

• Develop and implement a consistent whole of government complaints framework; and
• Investigate and scope a central complaints management system for collecting and sharing information.

The Department of Health has undertaken significant work in reforming complaints management across the health service in response to the Commission of Inquiry and is well placed to lead preliminary work in this space.

The development of a consistent whole of Government framework for managing complaints will be initiated through the development of a set of shared principles, and this work has already commenced.

Recommendations: 9.31, 20.6, 20.8 and 20.10.

A description of all recommendations is included in Appendix 1.

Commissioning

Government Funded Service Commissioning Priority Area

Delivers all Standards

The Tasmanian Government purchases a large number of its services for children and young people through contracts with community sector organisations. In contracting community sector organisations the Tasmanian Government is seeking to purchase both outcomes, and services that lead to these outcomes.

A shared approach to commissioning will ensure that funded services interacting with any Tasmanian Government have consistent expectations to uphold the rights of children, and prevent and respond to child sexual abuse in trauma informed ways.

Greater consistency in commissioning will also make it easier for services who partner with multiple agencies. It will lead to streamlined reporting, contractual obligations and reducing administrative components, enabling services to focus their resources on the needs of children and young people.

The objective of this priority area is to ensure that the rights of children are upheld, and children are safe in community organisations that deliver services on behalf of the Tasmanian Government. To deliver this, this priority area will:

• develop a whole of government framework to guide purchasing for outcomes, including safety and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people;
• develop a whole of government Quality and Safety Framework which sets the overarching standards for quality and safety for services purchased by the Tasmanian Government regardless of which agency is purchasing the service. This Quality and Safety Framework will incorporate the Child and Youth Safe Standards; and
• provide a range of tools to assist community services to ensure they are complying with the Quality and Safety Framework, and to assist agencies monitor adherence to standards.

This priority area will focus on a whole of government approach, but will also assist agencies to develop tailored commissioning strategies for particular service types, including out of home care, and transfer of services to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations.

A whole of government Steering Committee to deliver this priority area has been established, chaired by the Department of Premier and Cabinet and including the Department of Treasury and Finance who administer the Treasurer’s Instructions that guide the purchase of services by the Tasmanian Government.

A review of existing quality and safety approaches is underway. Tasmanian Government agencies, through the Steering Committee, will partner with the community services sector to ensure that a whole of government commissioning approach supports the sector to ensure the rights of children and young people, and keep children safe.

Recommendations: No specific recommendations. Recommendations included across other priority areas.

Out of Home Care Priority Area

Therapeutic Approach to Harmful Sexual Behaviours Priority Area

Working together to build connection and trust

Partnering with Tasmanian Aboriginal People Priority Area

Child Safe Cultures Priority Area

Child and Community Voice Priority Area

Workforce Priority Area

Working together to keep children safe

Professional Development and Training Priority Area

System Regulation and Monitoring Priority Area

Information Sharing Priority Area

Incident Management Priority Area

Complaints Priority Area

Single agency recommendations