NEW NATIONAL ACTION PLAN TO TACKLE CHILD ABUSE WELCOMED

Families Australia strongly welcomes today’s announcement of the Third Action Plan (2015-18) under the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020 – Australia’s first-ever national plan of action to tackle child abuse.

Families Australia’s Chief Executive Officer and convenor of the National NGO Coalition on Protecting Children, Brian Babington, said ‘the Third Action Plan is set to make a major contribution to tackling Australia’s appalling rates of child abuse and neglect’.

According to Australian Government data, rates of children in substantiations, on care and protection orders, and in out-of-home care have all increased since 2009-10.

The number of children who were the subject of substantiations of abuse and neglect rose by 31%—from 31,295 in 2009–10 to 40,844 in 2013–14. On average, there are more than 100 substantiations of child abuse in Australia every day.

The Third Action Plan marks an important ongoing commitment of Commonwealth, State and Territory
Governments and non-government organisations through the 170-member National Coalition of Organisations Committed to the Safety and Wellbeing of Australia’s Children.

Key areas of work in the Third Action Plan will be:

• prevention and early intervention so children are safe and well and families receive support when they need it, especially in the first thousand days of a child’s life,
• better supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities to help reduce the number of children in need of child protection services,
• increasing support for young people in out-of-home care to help them move to independence, and
• building child-safe organisations.

For further comment, contact Brian Babington, Families Australia on 0417 550 149.